Exclusive | Thomas Helmer pokes fun at Julian Nagelsmann and speaks on modern footballing journalism | OneFootball

The Get German Football News interview series with former Bayern Munich stars of the “FC Hollywood” generation continues! Having already spoken with Mario Basler and Markus Babbel, GGFN also secured an audience with Bundesliga veteran Thomas Helmer. The 68-times-capped German international collected endless trophies during his time playing for the German record champions between 1992 and 1999.

Helmer happens to be a very different character than the footballers interviewed in previous pieces. The now 60-year-old former centre-back declined to even attempt a coaching career following his retirement in 2000. Instead, after some brief playing stints with Sunderland and Hertha BSC, Helmer went straight into footballing journalism. His lively nature, quick-witted humor, and sharp intellect have made him a popular figure among German football watchers.

GGFN‘s interview with Helmer produced loads of laugh-out-loud moments and  hilarious anecdotes. Helmer simply cannot go more than a few minutes without cracking wise. There nevertheless remains much more to native Westphalian than jokes and barbs. Asked to offer up his thoughts on certain sides of the football journalism business, Helmer delivered some deep and meaningful insights on working perhaps the world’s most challenging journalism beat.

Before proceeding to the interview itself, some readers may be interested to know why Helmer is so funny. The answer is simple enough: He’s a former DSC Arminia Bielefeld man. Practically no one deeply involved in that club as a player or supporter can hope to survive life without a keenly developed sense-of-humor. Die Arminen – as the historically most unstable German football club ever – serve as the butt of jokes across the German footballing world.

The town of Bielefeld itself found itself at the center of one of Germany’s most famous long-running satirical parodies. The famous “Bielefeld-Verschwörung” (or Bielefeld conspiracy) debuted during the early days of the Internet in 1994. For over 30 years now,  Germans still amuse themselves by poking fun at the forgettable, bland, unremarkable, and nondescript town of Bielefeld. Does this town and its ridiculously mercurial football team even exist?

The theory itself holds that the town does not exist, based on the fact that your average German has never been to Bielefeld, knows no one from Bielefeld, knows no one who has ever been to Bielefeld, and would have no earthly reason to ever travel to Bielefeld. In 2019, the city’s tourism office opted to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the “Bielefeld Verschwörung” by opening a global contest offering an actual prize of €1 million to the most creative entry proving its non-existence.

Since 2019, the local club has now shifted leagues four more times. In the last 30 years, that makes for 19 (!!) seasons in which the club was either promoted or relegated. No other club even comes close to matching them. This year, their promotion to the second division to the 2. Bundesliga, not to mention the accomplishment of reaching the DFB Pokal Finale was obviously at the forefront of Helmer’s mind at the beginning of the interview.

Helmer came up through the DSC academy ranks and served on the club’s board from 2011 to 2015. The very first thing Helmer did was proudly display a picture of himself with Pokal-winning Stuttgart players at a marketing event earlier this week. For Helmer, Bielefeld’s amazing run to the Final left him in ultra high spirits.

Bielefeld – a top flight side at late as 2022 – secured promotion from the third division in large part due to their amazing upset win over defending Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen in the semi-finals. After slaying Xabi Alonso’s giants, Helmer’s Teutoburgs carried their confidence over and went on an incredible eight-match-unbeaten run.

Helmer commented on how the seven wins and one draw helped Bielefeld advance to the 2. Bundesliga as 3. Liga champions. Helmer also expressed confidence that the current club managerial team could help out the long-suffering burg. The locals simply love their club, to the point that the citizenry once financed renovations at the Alm almost exclusively themselves.

Helmer radiated optimism.

“For me, what was most important was that Bielefeld went undefeated after they beat Leverkusen in the semi-finals. I believe that Bielefeld belong in the second league and can establish themselves there, there’s been more stability in the [professional] environment I believe there’s more cohesion and solidarity.

“Michael Mutzel and the front office team have done a good job I remain in contact with them. They’re proceeding in a very rational way. They’re doing skillful work [rebuilding the club] without overdoing it or rushing it.”

When it came time to discuss Helmer’s journalism career, the trademark Bielefeld humor began to flow. Helmer revealed that he quickly grew tired of his initial role as a simple footballing pundit. The man who once considered studying journalism before entering football got bored quickly and sought out a new challenge more in line with his intellect.

“I always knew that I never wanted to be a coach I began as a television expert answering questions. Then one day I said to my boss, I don’t have to answer the same dim-witted questions all the time, I can ask them myself. It turned into something of a bet with my boss. He said [in a friendly fashion] ‘you won’t be able to manage that’.

“I said, let me try it out and he let me try out a lot. Pre-match announcements. Interviews, sometimes recorded, sometimes live. Roundtable discussions.  Everything that was available. It was all ‘learning by doing’. I didn’t study it, but simply tried it out. In the beginning it was a little bumpy, but one gets into it. It was fun to do, after all. I know a lot about football and that creates credibility [for the audience].“

One of Helmer’s most famous footballing interviews occurred on the night of August 25th, 2021. Helmer covered Bayern Munich’s 0-12 win over fifth-tier-side Bremer SV (not to be confused with SV Werder Bremen). The match occurred during Julian Nagelsmann’s first year in charge of the German giants. Memorably, Helmer poked fun at Nagelsmann’s “ultra modern” coaching style.

“We older ones see football a little differently than the younger generation. When I take a look at coaches and coaching methods these days. When, for example, there are four assistant coaches up there on their laptops studying speed data or whatever.

“I had to ask Julian Nagelsmann in the post-match interview, ‘What were you looking at [on your laptop] against a fifth-tier opponent?’ And he said, ‘I was looking at running lanes and blah, blah, blah.

“And I told him, ‘the ball was in the back of the net. I don’t think anyone did anything wrong. And then he had to laugh himself.

“Nowadays, they make it too complicated; too scientific. Simple also works well enough.”

That famous incident covered, it was time to ask Helmer about the merciless pace of the football journalism business. A person like Helmer – also a skilled writer and columnist – naturally has to balance the need to publish “scoop news” quickly with the importance of accuracy, not to mention privacy of the professional sources who confide in him.

How does Helmer manage the social media age?

“Obviously, with social media it’s been greatly exacerbated. The pace [of the business] has really increased. One must always be the first and should always be the first [to report news]. A lot of times, the old athlete in me comes out. One encounters plenty of stories that one shouldn’t share. There’s a ‘code-of-honor’ at work.

“I don’t jump into the current fast pace [of the business] 100 percent when it comes to publishing and sharing. I believe that people confide also trust in my discretion. I think one has to find a solid balance and I think I’ve personally found it.”

Beyond the issues of controversies or inaccuracies, there’s also the fact that footballing news literally never stops. Every journalist responsible for covering football can sometimes find it maddening to take a step back and not think about all the news that potentially may be breaking. A brain hard-wired to report doesn’t disengage from the urge to report breaking news first.

With a smile and a wink, Helmer admitted he had this problem too.

“One should not allow oneself to be driven [by the pace of the business]. One tends towards [involvement]. It is probably the most difficult thing to be left out and not join in.”

And how does Helmer cope with it?

Does he take days off to recharge?

“Of course, nowadays that exists. In earlier days no. When I was moderating ‘Doppelpass’ [the most famed German footballing roundtable] I had to be more up-to-date. I live in Hamburg. I like to go to HSV, St. Pauli, or Kiel in order to just see a nice game. Not to write on or report on, but to go with my daughter or son and just watch the game.

“To sit there neutrally in the stands with friends and acquaintances. To just enjoy, or sometimes to complain and curse just like a normal fan in the stadium. I do have to be careful sometimes. Everyone jumps up to celebrate a goal and I say ‘offsides’. Then everyone says ‘what do you mean offsides’? Then VAR comes in two minutes later to confirm the offsides and everyone is mad at me.“

Helmer actually still does some work with ‘Doppelpass’, but generally more whenever the brand takes the show on the road for live sessions in various German cities. Quite often, Helmer works together with his former “FC Hollywood” teammates Basler and Babbel. Of course, there remains a huge contrast in styles

Basler and Babbel show no hesitation in offering up their opinions on the current state of Bayern. Helmer typically holds back and works as more of a neutral moderator. Basler (a talkative Pfälzer) and Babbel (a opinionated Bavarian) talk more than the man from North Germany.

Is this deliberate?

“I’ll always say my opinion when asked, but one doesn’t always know better because one’s too far from [the club]. One naturally knows what it was like at this or that time from one’s own experience and one has a hunch. I simply a different type than Mario or Markus. They’re both very clear to the point.

“Mario is who is he is. He’s authentic. Always stands by his opinion. With Mario I went on tour with Doppelpass. We complement each other very well. I’m a little calmer. He’s more direct.“

When Helmer mentioned being “too far from the club“, the natural follow up question had to be whether or not he still maintained contact with Bayern management and administration. No German football fan could resist asking whether or not Helmer still called the likes of Uli Hoeneß.

Did Helmer give up on ringing Hoeneß?

Helmer’s final answer proved interesting.

“No, that’s simply not true. If I have a problem or a question, Uli Hoeneß would be one of the first people I would call. That didn’t change with me. I just do it less frequently now because I feel he has enough going on. Nevertheless, if there’s something serious or important than I’ll call him. No problem.”

This interview was made possible by Beste Online Casino Nederland.

GGFN | Peter Weis