Matthias Jaissle points to his neck when he explains why his view of the game, and of life itself, was formed unusually early. “I had a tumour when I was five years old,” the Newcastle United head coach says. “Here in my neck so I couldn’t move it anymore. That was a period where I already learned a lot about life, how important it is to be healthy, and how grateful you can be to be healthy and to follow your dream. It was not clear that I could play football as a kid anymore.”
He did not elaborate further on that period of his childhood. But he did go on to play, and among the many children who picture a career in professional football, he was one of the rare few to actually live it. As a defender at Hoffenheim, Jaissle even felt he was on the verge of a senior call up to the German national team at one stage, only to suffer a serious knee injury at the age of 20. He refused to give up and, in his own words, “kept the dream for a lot longer than the doctors did”, but the setback ultimately curtailed his career and he retired a few years later in 2014.
That left him in a dark place, something he has previously detailed in an interview with BBC Sport. Over time, though, the “wounds” he experienced have come to shape him. “That makes you the person you are, whatever aspect it is, with the belief you can overcome every obstacle,” he says. “Every setback also has a positive side. If you overcome these challenges then you become stronger, more resilient.”
Coaching was not the plan at first. Ralf Rangnick, his former manager at Hoffenheim, invited him on to a training programme at RB Leipzig, where his mentor was working at the time, so he could sample life behind the scenes at the club. Jaissle was due to be redeployed in a new department every six weeks and began his placement as an assistant youth team coach to former team-mate Sebastien Hoeness, who now manages Stuttgart. He was pencilled in to spend time with the club’s sporting director and figures from their administrative, commercial and marketing departments, but he never ended up doing so. “I didn’t move on,” Jaissle says. “After two weeks, wow, I felt joy back in life.”
That placement set him on the path that eventually led to St James’ Park. He climbed the coaching ladder and won trophies at Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg and Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli, drawing attention for his intensity and work rate. “Since the first meeting, it was clear this was our guy,” a senior Newcastle source says.
His arrival on Tyneside was still a baptism of fire for the 38-year-old, who had never previously managed in the Premier League and took over after predecessor Eddie Howe stepped down. Jaissle insists friend Thomas Tuchel “didn’t need to warn” him about what was coming in the top flight, but he had just three weeks to prepare for the visit of Liverpool on the opening weekend, and the squad was in flux. Captain Bruno Guimaraes was about to follow Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali out of the exit door and complete a £75m move to Arsenal at the time. Although Newcastle would end up making eight signings, they were all aged 24 and under, as the club went from having one of the most experienced sides in the Premier League to the youngest almost overnight. It was a huge amount of change in a short space of time.
There have also been a spate of injuries to key players. Even so, Jaissle has lost only one of his opening seven matches in all competitions, a chastening 4-1 defeat at Leeds United, and Newcastle sit ninth in the early stages of the Premier League season. He accepts it has been “tougher than expected” to “get stuff into the players’ heads”, given pre-season was “so short and packed with friendly matches we couldn’t change”, adding: “But considering all these things, we’re doing good.” He remains convinced that his aggressive style of play and so-called vertical football will “work anywhere”, even if the team is clearly still a work in progress at such an early stage of his reign.
The numbers underline that. Newcastle have made the most errors leading to shots (12) in the Premier League this season, while at the other end of the field Jaissle’s clinical side have averaged little more than three efforts on target per match in the top flight. Ups and downs feel likely given the age of the side, but Jaissle has been struck by the backing of supporters and has quickly settled into life on Tyneside. He moved out of a hotel into a new home earlier this week and has ventured into the city to sample a handful of restaurants, though only to celebrate wins. Following the 2-1 victory against Hull City at St James’ Park last time out, he even paid for a supporter’s birthday meal. “I really love the fans and the people here,” he adds.