Liverpool Tries Something Different With New Sporting Director Jörg Schmadtke
Liverpool FC have confirmed Jörg Schmadtke will become the club’s new sporting director, replacing the outgoing Julian Ward.
The 59-year-old will initially be tasked with guiding the club through the 2023 summer transfer window ahead of the 2023/24 season – a move that represents a different approach to the role.
Schmadtke was previously sporting director at German Bundesliga club Wolfsburg, a position he held for almost five years before leaving the club in January 2023.
When Ward announced his departure in November 2022, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp’s agent Marc Kosicke recommended Schmadtke as a possible candidate for the new sporting director position.
Ward succeeded Liverpool’s esteemed sporting director Michael Edwards, who oversaw the signings that have seen Liverpool win Champions League and Premier League titles, as well as the FA Cup, League Cup and Club World Cup in recent years.
In those years, Liverpool have successfully challenged Manchester City’s dominance in the Premier League, breaking City’s five Premier League victories in the last six years by winning the title in 2020.
Since then, City have won the league three times in a row and although Liverpool came close to overtaking them to the title in 2022, performances faltered in the 2022/23 season, resulting in a fifth-place finish.
It’s clear that Liverpool’s squad needs a makeover, particularly in midfield, and the departures of James Milner, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Roberto Firmino this summer provide an opportunity to sign new faces.
Schmadtke’s role may not be as broad as that of the promised Edwards and the German’s main job will be to negotiate with clubs, players and agents once targets have been identified, rather than identifying the players themselves.
“I don’t have a budget yet!” Schmadtke joked in an interview with German broadcaster Sport1.
“Seriously, transfers are always complicated. When a player moves from A to B, it’s usually about small things that are difficult to influence and have nothing to do with making money.
“For example, how the player integrates into his family in the city, what place he should have in the team and how he can perform at his best.
“You have to take that into account. The amounts involved in these transfers are almost insignificant.”
Schmadtke will come into play at the transfer negotiations stage, trying to get the best offer for the club while convincing the players that Liverpool is the right move for them.
He will phone and visit players and clubs in person and try to negotiate the arrangements with everyone involved, including the clubs, the player and the agent(s).
Klopp and Schmadtke’s non-active careers overlap. In 2001, Schmadtke started as sporting director at Alemannia Aachen, while Klopp took up his first coaching position at Mainz 05 in the same year.
Schmadtke was then active at Hannover 96 and FC Koln while Klopp was a coach at Borussia Dortmund and it was in these circumstances that the pair’s paths had previously crossed.
When Schmadtke left Wolfsburg in January, Klopp described Schmadtke as a “great character”.
“I would have liked to work with him, I’m sure it would have worked out well,” said Klopp at the time.
“He’s a top character, someone who hasn’t changed in 38 years and stayed true to himself. Football will miss him.”
When it became clear that Schmadtke would join Liverpool, Klopp said: “His character is good, his personality is good and his humor is good – I know that from a few moments next to him on the pitch.”
Schmadtke has also been described as stubborn and Liverpool are hoping his combination of humor and tough negotiating skills will help make the club a popular transfer target offer while also securing the best offer.
“The influence of the coach on transfers is greater in England than in Germany, where a sporting director holds everything in one hand [deals with all aspects]”, Schmadtke continued in his interview with Sport1.
“Jürgen Klopp sets the priorities, we put him in a team of data analysts, scouts, etc., so he can then choose from a list of players he wants to work with.”
“Then I will handle the transfers with the relevant departments at the club. And in the end, the owners have to be satisfied with the investments.”
Schmadtke will take up his new role on June 1 and will initially remain on board for three months – i.e. until the end of the 2023 summer transfer window.
Liverpool have already been linked with several midfield transfer targets.
A deal for Alexis Mac Allister is believed to be at an advanced stage, while German club Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Manu Koné is heavily involved and could be Schmadtke’s first job once he starts work on Thursday.
“Jörg will work alongside our football operations department as they continue to support Jurgen Klopp, in line with our ongoing commitment to continue to grow and develop the club in all areas,” said Mike Gordon, President of Fenway Sports Group (Liverpool’s owners).
The appointment, which was initially short-term, represents a slightly different approach, as the sporting director is initially only on board for a transfer period.
Sporting directors are usually tasked with overseeing the overall philosophy and stability of a club, from style of play to recruitment, and in modern football it is usually the role of manager or head coach that is more temporary or susceptible to change.
But Liverpool already have the style and culture being pushed by Klopp and his staff so this deal might make sense. It makes less sense to give the sports director less influence on the transfer goals themselves.
Schmadtke will be judged on how well he manages to get deals across the border and close them at a price that is reasonable for the club.
Meanwhile, Liverpool’s decision to proceed in this way, and ultimately the 2023/24 season, will depend on how effective the signings are and whether they can help the club climb back to the top of the Premier League.
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