Trabzonspor head coach Thomas Reis has broken his silence regarding the appointment of Jérôme Boateng as his assistant, stating that the 38-year-old was hired for sporting reasons and to have good people around him.
Boateng joined the Turkish club at the beginning of October following the conclusion of his playing career with LASK in September 2025. While Reis admitted he had no prior personal relationship with the World Cup winner, the decision to bring him onto the coaching staff emerged from an internal club analysis focused on defensive development.
Thomas Reis Defends the Decision to Hire Jérôme Boateng
Speaking via LinkedIn, Reis dismissed the notion that his new assistant would occupy a passive role within the technical staff. “My new co-trainer is not here to set up cones,” Reis wrote, noting that Boateng is a World Cup winner and has won the Champions League twice.
Reis clarified that Boateng’s primary mandate focuses directly on defensive organization. During training sessions, the former Schalke and Bochum manager noted that Boateng works specifically with the backline, providing direct corrections on positional shifts and defensive line management. “He goes in, corrects, gives instructions. Shifting the chain. Pushing out. That is his area,” Reis stated.
Player Integration and Early Progress at Trabzonspor
According to the Trabzonspor boss, Boateng initially displayed a reserved demeanor upon arriving in Turkey but has steadily grown into his coaching responsibilities. Reis noted that the former defender now actively contributes his own ideas and commands respect from the squad because “he knows what he is talking about, regardless of who he is talking to in the team.”
The appointment marks Boateng’s entry into the coaching profession after a planned internship under Vincent Kompany at Bayern Munich was canceled following protests in Germany. Those protests stemmed from a July 2024 ruling by the Munich I Regional Court, in which Boateng was convicted of intentional bodily harm against a former partner and received a fine of 200,000 euros alongside a warning with a suspended sentence, though he is not considered to have a criminal record and has consistently denied the physical assault allegations.
Coaching Staff Dynamics and Training Ground Responsibilities
Reis reiterated that the recruitment process relied purely on footballing criteria rather than external narratives, pointing to the need for authoritative figures capable of mentoring younger players. By tasking Boateng with direct defensive instruction, Trabzonspor aims to leverage the veteran’s deep experience competing at the highest levels of European club and international football.
Whether Boateng’s integration into the technical staff will translate into sustained defensive improvements for the Turkish club remains to be seen as the season progresses.
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