Strange criticisms of Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl have emerged from Germany.
Rohl is making headlines both in the UK and in his native Germany following his miraculous turnaround with Sheffield Wednesday.
He steered the Owls to safety following his appointment as manager in October; at the time of his arrival, Sheffield Wednesday were winless in the league and seven points adrift.
In the end, Wednesday finished the 2023/24 season with 53 points on the board and a three-point gap to safety.
German media hailed Rohl’s ‘miracle in England’ following the final day victory over Sunderland which ensured Wednesday’s Championship status.
But fresh claims coming out of Germany have thrown some criticism Rohl’s way.
German pundit critical of Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl
Rohl became no.2 to Hansi Flick in the German national team set up in 2021, after previously working under Flick at Bayern Munich.
But Rohl would leave that position shortly before he took charge of Sheffield Wednesday, with his exit coming in the wake of Germany’s disastrous 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
They failed to qualify out of their group, beating Costa Rica and drawing with Spain, but losing against Japan to eventually finish in 3rd place.
Flick, who watched Rohl’s Sheffield Wednesday beat Plymouth Argyle in March, would also leave his position last year.
During the Qatar World Cup, Germany allowed Amazon Prime cameras to film an ‘All or Nothing’ documentary which went on to receive poor reviews.
There’s ongoing speculation that Flick could soon return to former club Bayern Munich, where Rohl was also his no.2.
But German pundit and former coach Mehmet Scholl has criticised Rohl’s involvement with the German national tea, at the World Cup.
Speaking to German outlet BILD, Scholl said: “I think that Flick was driven crazy at the World Cup by his assistant coach student [Rohl], who constantly distracted him with the iPad. Hansi lost track a bit because he trusted the wrong man.”
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Flick looks set to return to management sooner or later, and it’ll likely be with a top European club with current links to Bayern Munich following loose links to Barcelona.
But Rohl is his own manager now. He’s shown that he’s capable of managing on his own and returning as no.2 to Flick, even if at a top European club, would be a backwards step for Rohl.
And it looks as though Rohl is readying his future with Sheffield Wednesday, with owner Dejphon Chansiri putting in the work off the pitch to ensure that Rohl stays for the long-term.
Scholl’s comments though are very bizarre. Germany certainly capitulated at the World Cup in Qatar but whether that was solely down to Flick being distracted by Rohl and his iPad remains to be seen, if not unlikely.
Flick showed a lot of trust in Rohl and now, after seeing how well he’s done at Sheffield Wednesday, it’s clear to see why.
There’ll always be coaches and pundits firing shots at Rohl, especially now that he’s proving to be successful, and it’ll just have to be something that Rohl learns to live with.
Right now though, he’s loved in Sheffield, and that’s all that’ll matter to him.