Only just an assistant coach, German wrecks PL club’s title hopes | OneFootball

It’s a special story that reached its sensational peak for the time being yesterday in the FA Cup. German coach Tonda Eckert knocked heavy favorites Arsenal out of the competition with his Championship side Southampton FC.

The 33-year-old manager only took over the team, relegated from the Premier League, in November 2025. After a successful spell following his promotion from assistant to interim coach (four wins in five games), he was eventually appointed head coach and guided the team out of the relegation zone. It is his first job as a head coach.

Before that, he had worked exclusively as the right-hand man to the main managers – for example under former St. Pauli coach Alexander Blessin at Genoa in Italy, or under Miroslav Klose with Bayern Munich’s U17s.

And even though all of that was not so long ago, his career has now reached a completely different level.

Just a few months after being promoted to head coach, the North Rhine-Westphalia native yesterday dumped Arsenal out of the cup with Southampton, currently seventh in England’s second division.

📸 Mike Hewitt - 2026 Getty Images

Ross Stewart put them ahead in the first half, and Shea Charles responded five minutes before the end of normal time after the Premier League leaders had equalized in between. His team did not dominate the game against the overwhelming favorites, of course, but they were far more clinical going forward.

Several players familiar from the Bundesliga also played a major role in the win. Bayern loanee Daniel Peretz made some excellent saves, while both former Heidenheim man Leo Scienza and Caspar Jander, whom we still know from Nuremberg, delivered outstanding performances and helped secure the biggest achievement of Tonda Eckert’s coaching career so far.

For the Gunners, who have been waiting many years for a title and who this season seemed to be the benchmark in European football both in the league and in the Champions League, this cup exit in the quarter-finals will likely have caused plenty of nerves. Next week, they face Sporting Lisbon away in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.

For Southampton FC, meanwhile, yesterday was of course a day to celebrate. Asked why Southampton have repeatedly managed to produce big moments late in games recently, Eckert gave a rather poetic answer: "Resilience and belief. I think you have to live that every single day."

And if this keeps going – who knows what might be possible in the FA Cup semi-finals. They will be played at the end of April (25/26). Their opponent will be Manchester City. Let’s see whether the underdog can crush the next set of title dreams.  

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

📸 Mike Hewitt - 2026 Getty Images