(Photo credit: FC Ingolstadt)
Having already broken ground as the first woman to coach a professional men’s team in Europe, Sabrina Wittmann has been given the Ingolstadt job on a full-time basis.
Wittmann was named interim head coach at the German 3. Liga team last season, and massively impressed, going unbeaten in her four games and recording their biggest victory of the season, a 6-1 win over VfB Lübeck.
A former player herself in Germany and the US, Wittmann has long been with Ingolstadt as a player and coach.
As a coach, she made her way up through the former Bundesliga side’s underage boy’s teams before excelling with the U19 side.
Having produced multiple stars for the first team, it was only natural that she was given a shot with the senior side, where she impressed enough to become the first female coach of a professional men’s team in Europe. She also led Ingolstadt to the first State Cup triumph in the club’s history.
Speaking at her contract renewal, Wittmann said: “When I took over the first team on an interim basis in May, I had hoped that it would not just be a short adventure. With every moment that I spent with the team afterwards, my desire to stay in this position long-term grew stronger.
“I am incredibly proud and grateful that this journey that we have started is now continuing and that Didi Beiersdorfer and Ivo Grlic continue to trust me. Everyone here knows how much Ingolstadt means to me. It all started here and I grew up here. Over many years I was able to build a stable foundation that I can and will fall back on.
“We will continue the path that we took in May with absolute enthusiasm, great consistency and maximum intensity.”
Managing Director Dietmar Beiersdorfer commented: “Sabrina Wittmann has impressively demonstrated during her time at Schanz that she not only has the ability to promote young players, but also to develop teams sustainably, exploit their full potential and lead them to success.
“She has impressively demonstrated this over the years both with the juniors and most recently with the professionals. In addition to high-quality content and a consistently lived performance culture, this also requires strong leadership skills.
“Due to these characteristics and her extremely high identification with FC Ingolstadt 04, we are fully convinced that she is the right person to work with to achieve the goals we have set.”
Sports director Ivo Grlic added: “Of course, as a club we want to promote not only our young players, but also our coaching talents. Sabrina Wittmann has worked extremely successfully at FC Ingolstadt 04 in recent years and has been extremely convincing not only on a professional level, but also on a personal level.
“She stands for offensive and courageous football, which she conveys with her authentic and passionate style of coaching and which she can carry the team along with.
“Sabrina has also been with the club for almost two decades and is really passionate about FCI – you can’t get more Schanzer DNA than that. Since she already knows the entire club and the team very well, she will hardly need any time to get used to it. This is another reason why Sabrina brings the best overall package for the coaching position.
“Our in-depth analysis after the end of the season with a view to her time as interim coach, in which she gave the team many positive impulses in a short space of time, has strengthened our assumption once again.”
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