Thus: 06/09/2021 at 5:45 pm.
After a year’s wait, former Hanoverian Daniel Stendel will coach AS Nancy in the coming season. A reason to be really happy – if it weren’t for the high barriers of the French language.
When Stendhal met Gauthier Gane three years ago, he had no idea where he would take him again. At the time, the Frenchman was president of Barnsley FC, an English second division relegated that wanted to return to the EFL championship and relied on a German coach – Stendel.
For the former head coach of Hannover 96, his commitment to the club nicknamed “The Tykes” (“The Math”) was a major success. They actually took Barnsley back to the second division. The former attacker was sacked by the new club management in October after a poor start to the next season – but Gane’s praise for Stendel lasted too long.
Stendel: “I don’t speak French. Nothing”
It shows now. As president of French second division AS Nancy, he is once again dependent on Stendel, who has been looking for a job since leaving Scottish club Heart of Midlothian in June 2020. The 47-year-old will start preparations with his new team from June 15.
Really a reason to be happy – if it weren’t for the language. Stendhal openly admitted this in an interview to the Edinburgh Evening News.
“I don’t speak that much English, even less Scottish and no French at all. Nothing. I hope I can communicate with a little English. Because it’s not that easy to speak German in France.”
Danielle Stendel
Furthermore, the coaching jargon is not necessarily international. It is at least questionable whether, for example, the sentence “Tu joss cum faux nef ozord’hui” (“You play as a fake nine today”) would be invoked as desired.
Expecting help from assistant coach
In the interview, Stendhal indicates that commitment to him equates to risk. After all, and he insisted on it, his assistant instructor from Luxembourg, Raphael Duarte, speaks French, German and English. “Hopefully he will translate. I didn’t know him before, but he may well support me,” said Stendhal, who in May signed a contract until June 30, 2023.
Further Support: Jörg “Colt” Sievers, who, like Harts, will now also be Nancy Stendel’s assistant coach. However, the 55-year-old former goalkeeper and Hannover 96 goalkeeper coach can’t seem to balance when it comes to the French. “I was on a school exchange in France once, and my sister-in-law lives on the border with France,” Sievers told “Sportbuzzer.”
As he emphasizes, Stendel sees the commitment as “the next step for me” in a 105,000-resident city in northeastern France. “I have picked Nancy, a new project with a good club. I am happy to start here,” said the former striker. “I would love it if I get a chance to go back to England.”
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