Marcus Mann redesigned the newly formed traditional club Hannover 96. In the kicker interview, the 38-year-old underscores all his ambitions: “It’s not possible in a quick fix.”
Sports Director at 96: Marcus Mann.
PICTURE/Oliver Ruhnke
A rollercoaster ride through the past season, two changes of coach, numerous transfers – and above all, with Martin Kind, an extraordinary boss: Marcus Mann has already got to know the special features of the Hanover location within a year.
With a new coach – Stefan Leitl comes from the Bundesliga relegated Fürth – and some well-known additions (including Louis Schaub, Max Besuschkow, Fabian Kunze) the Lower Saxony want to attack in the coming season.
“I expect a lot of 50-50 games”
But Mann keeps the ball flat in the kicker interview, although 96 is considered a “budget croesus” (40 million euros total volume): “The power density will be very tight, and I expect many 50:50 games in which small things make the difference give.” All transfers that Hannover made up until mid-May “were free of charge. We are not a Croesus, the numbers will not change much compared to last year,” said Mann.
Of course, the Lower Saxony want to improve. Although club boss Martin Kind is already thinking about returning to the Bundesliga, Mann names a “single-digit place” as a “realistic goal, because we will certainly not win all the games right away. Of course, nobody will resist if things go up faster, but other clubs are at least a year ahead of us on the way to a certain stability to attack from.” Man explicitly mentions 1. FC Nürnberg and Darmstadt 98, Fortuna Düsseldorf and SC Paderborn are also on the rise.
The focus is on young players
In view of the new coaching staff, the 38-year-old ex-professional, who was once in a team with Leitl in Darmstadt, wants to have his squad together for the coming season as early as possible. The focus is primarily on “young but ambitious players”: “You shouldn’t wait too long in a transfer period.”
Even if it starts with a new coach and many young players: The results have to be right, especially at a “big club” like Hannover 96. A man who wants to take the club back to where it used to be knows that. “But that can’t be done in a hasty fashion, but by building something up sensibly. Especially when working with the team, in daily training, step by step. We don’t just want to set goals and pant after them.”
