Ex-Löw assistant becomes head coach in England | OneFootball

What a rapid career sprint! Tonda Eckert is probably only known to the top one percent of football nerds in this country. And even in England, until recently, he was known at most to a few data freaks.

By now, however, the German is making waves in the Championship. The 32-year-old, who joined Southampton’s U21 team as an assistant coach from Genoa in the summer, has been promoted to head coach after just four months at the club. He received a contract until 2027 and, along with full trust, also full responsibility.

And he has earned it: Since Eckert took over as interim coach at the beginning of November, the Saints have gone on a real run. They notched up four wins from five games and climbed out of the basement, up to 11th place.

The recently relegated Premier League side didn’t have to think twice. Technical director Johannes Spors, also a German, recently praised Eckert effusively. “His empathy for the team and the clarity of his ideas have contributed significantly to the improvements,” said Spors.

Eckert’s path is truly remarkable. At the 2014 World Cup, at the tender age of just 21, he worked as an analyst for Joachim Löw and the German national team. So Eckert also owns a small share of that magical DFB summer in Brazil.

Via youth positions at FC Köln, RB, and FC Bayern, the young coach then landed his first head coaching job. And the way things are going right now, we’re likely to hear a lot more from him in the coming years.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

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