[ 11goals ] - Interview with Patrick Patzig (Coachbetter.com)

Dear Patrick,

1. What 3 things fascinate you about football?

a) Unique players like Maradona, Messi & Ronaldo

b) Football unites and connects, like at our home World Cup in 2006

c) Emotions that football can trigger on the pitch or in front of the television

2. Your best football moment so far?

Mario Götze's goal in the 2014 World Cup final, pure goosebumps!

3. What do you think is the key to being happy?

Honesty with yourself. If you answer the question “Am I happy with what I’m doing right now?” If you answer “no”, you have to change something.

4. What motivates you or how do you motivate yourself?

I set goals for myself and always have a goal in mind that I want to achieve (day, week, year). That motivates me a lot.

5. What are you most proud of in your life?

Here’s to the founding of coachbetter and the fact that our idea has already helped many coaches.

6. What was the best decision in your football career?

Accepting a college football scholarship in the USA, working for FIFA in football promotion and deciding to train as a coach – that's where the idea for coachbetter came from

7. What three things in your life are you most grateful for?

Family, friends & health

8. Your life motto?

“Give every day the chance to become the most beautiful day of your life.” (Mark Twain)

9. If you could change one thing in football: what would it be?

I would like digitalization to advance football even further and for all coaches around the world to have the same opportunities and options. That's why we founded coachbetter.

10. Your life without football would be...

..pretty much the same as between March and May 2020 - it was nice to spend more time with family and friends, but I'm glad that we have football (partially) back because it connects the whole world.

11. Are women more inquisitive about training?

I wouldn't say more inquisitive, but women and especially young girls listen more intensively. This is really fun.

12. Can you recommend a daily exercise for training in Corona times?

Yes, of course, we have even developed entire Corona training packages on coachbetter.de. I especially recommend active stretching to my players because we simply move less during lockdown...

13. What do you enjoy most about your job?

I have daily contact with ambitious and inspiring coaches who, like me, love football.

14. Tactics or will? What brings victory?

Both extremely important! Choosing the right tactics is the most exciting task for every coach. However, this should always be adapted to the quality of the team and not the other way around! But... without the will you can't do football or life, that's a basic requirement for success, otherwise it's almost impossible to win if I'm not prepared to give everything for my club and my teammates.

15. Why did you become a coach? What does this job mean to you?

I love football and have always wanted to become a coach to implement my idea of ​​football on the pitch. The coaching job demands a lot but also gives a lot, for example team spirit.

16. Apart from football/sports, what do you miss most in the current situation?

Of course, like most people, I miss contact with friends and just meeting up for a coffee. I won't miss the mask when Corona is hopefully over soon...

17. Who do you think is the best football coach and why?

Absolutely, Hansi Flick! His down-to-earth attitude and empathetic nature inspire me a lot. The way he treats his players and evaluates them day in and day out based on performance is outstanding - his successes speak for themselves.

18. Where do you see Switzerland in international comparison when it comes to promoting young talent? (Example: NLZ)

Switzerland has a great infrastructure and also develops great players. It would be nice if they also used Coachbetter now.

19. Does women's football deserve more recognition? What would have to change? (Compared to other countries; Spain, England, France)

Women's football definitely deserves more attention. Germany is a pioneer and pioneer in women's football and also receives a lot of recognition internationally. We now just have to make sure that the other countries, especially England, do not “run away” from us when it comes to funding. At coachbetter we also see new trainers who decide to use our platform almost every day, which makes us proud.

20. Tell us more about you & “Coachbetter”

The three founders of us (Patrick, Davide & Thomas) are best childhood friends and love football. Davide and I both studied in the USA on scholarships and played football.

Coachbetter is an end-to-end digital platform for all football training activities with a first-class user experience at a price that is ideal for amateur and hobby coaches. With our platform, football coaches and clubs save time (over 100 hours per year), be more effective, use data to make better decisions and improve player skills.

Thank you for the great interview, Patrick! All the best with Coachbetter & best regards to Switzerland!