Record-breaking Potsdam coach Schröder retires
Monday, May 16, 2016
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Bernd Schröder coached Turbine Potsdam for the final time having first taken charge on the new club in 1971 and won two UEFA titles among many honours.
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A managerial reign unique in world football came to an end today when Bernd Schröder took charge of Turbine Potsdam for the final time in their 4-1 Frauen Bundesliga win at Werder Bremen.
Former Lokomotiv Leipzig reserve goalkeeper Schröder has been in charge of Turbine since signing up to coach the new women's section of his East German employers' team in 1971. Other than a brief spell in the 1990s, he has coached them ever since before retiring today at the age of 73.
Schröder led Potsdam to six East German titles and the same number of unified Frauen Bundesliga championships, and tasted European glory when they won the 2005 UEFA Women's Cup and its UEFA Women's Champions League successor in 2010. UEFA.com picks out the key points from a coaching stint recognised in the Guinness Book of World Records, where Schröder's 45-year span has overtaken that of Guy Roux at Auxerre.
- The key numbers
1 - Schröder coached the East German women's national team in their only game, a 3-0 loss to Czechoslovakia on 9 May 1990.
2 - European titles in 2005 and 2010; a record Schröder shares with Hans-Jürgen Tritschoks (Frankfurt 2006 and 2008), Patrice Lair (Lyon 2011 and 2012) and Ralf Kellermann (Wolfsburg 2013 and 2014)
4 - European finals in 2005, 2006, 2010 and 2011 (the most of any coach in UEFA women's club competition)
7 - Finishing seventh this season was the only time Potsdam had ended below sixth in any league campaign under Schröder
8 - Goals in Schröder's last two games in charge: a 4-0 home win against Wolfsburg and the 4-1 victory at Bremen.
17 - Major titles: 6 East German Oberliga, 6 Frauen Bundesliga, 3 German Cups, 2 UEFA Women's Cup/UEFA Women's Champions League
32 - Top-flight season in charge of Potsdam in both the Oberliga and Bundesliga.
43 - Number of UEFA women's club competitions wins overseen by Schröder in his 61 games in Europe, both records
599 - Monday's game was Schröder's 599th in top-level unified German competition (Bundesliga, German Cup, League Cup and Indoor Cup). He oversaw exactly 400 wins.
- In his own words
On beating Lyon to win the UEFA Women's Chamions League in 2010 ...
"I have been a coach for 40 years, I won the UEFA Women's Cup in 2005 and many German titles, but I have to say this is the greatest success."
Most memorable moment ...
"Following the fall of the Iron Curtain our future remained uncertain. The club existed but with no financial means after the main sponsor withdrew. So for me the breakthrough occurred in 2004, when we reached the cup final in Berlin, which was always a dream for us. We gave a sensational performance, beating Frankfurt 3-0. That was an incredible experience we will never forget."
On what Turbine's success means to Potsdam ...
"Potsdam is not necessarily a big football city. We have Berlin close by; we have other sports like canoeing, rowing, swimming, and track and field. The special thing about our city and the region is that we are one big sporting family. We understand each other; we learn from each other. We also train alongside each other or even together. The success we have at the club is also based on the success and the support of the region, the city and our federal minister, who does everything to support and develop sports further."
