With Hull City since the summer

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It was not only the end of Tim Walter at Hamburger SV at the start of 2024. His assistants Julian Hübner and Filip Tapalovic also had to leave. The trio then reunited at Hull City. What happens next for a coaching staff after a dismissal, how does the search for a new club work and what does the assistant coach’s role look like? Hübner provides insight in an interview with (Site notre blog d’information).

“For more than two and a half years at HSV, something has emerged in our coaching team that goes beyond pure collaboration,” says Hübner. That’s why it was clear to the trio: « If something happens that we all like, then we will do it together. » At HSV, they scored an average of 1.82 points in 103 games, more than anyone in the club’s second division history. However, they missed out on promotion twice in a row due to relegation, and in their final season they had the lowest HSV score after 21 matchdays – the club pulled the plug. Former assistant Merlin Polzin, who was there before Walter’s tenure, took over for one game before Steffen Baumgart arrived. The trio Walter, Hübner and Tapalovic went looking for a club.

Hübner and Tapalovic arrived at HSV together with Walter in the summer of 2021. Unlike Tapalovic, Hübner has already worked with the coach before. They are no longer work colleagues, they are friends. In the 2014/15 season, the two men took care of the Karlsruher SC U19s in the same constellation as today and led them to the semi-finals of the German championship – a unique story in the club’s history. After one season they parted ways professionally again as Walter joined the FC Bayern youth team and Hübner stayed at KSC. But contact was never broken, Hübner visited Walter at his stations in Munich, Holstein Kiel and VfB Stuttgart.

Hübner remained at KSC until 2019, then put his coaching career on hold to travel the world with his wife and daughter. Back in Germany, he met Walter at his home: « I said to him: Timmy, if there’s still something left, let’s do it together. They’re different types, but that’s exactly why they go well together. » Hübner explains: “Tim is an alpha animal and has obvious strengths. But he can play with it here and there, and then I come in. I try to round the corners and edges so that his assets are highlighted even more. We both appreciate that.

Hübner sees the role of assistant as follows: “In principle, you are part of the boss. You’ll get a raise if he gets one. You succeed when he succeeds. But you’re out when he is. » It’s always clear to him: « If Timmy takes credit for something, then that goes for me too. » I’m part of it. This is exactly the attitude you need as an assistant coach. » As an assistant, he can try things more often, while the head coach has to work better, describes Hübner. “It’s just a lot of fun for me.” He hasn’t finished learning yet and can « grow » in his role, which is why a future as head coach is « not a problem at all » for him at the moment. Between 2016 and 2019, he took care of the Karlsruhe U16s.

Julian Hübner, Walter’s assistant: Hull City was ‘absolutely the right decision’

Hübner is “incredibly satisfied with the current situation”. Most important to him is his loyalty to Walter and knowing that he, Walter and Tapalovic are the right people for the job. Since this season, their club has been called Hull City. After HSV’s exit, it took less than three months for Walter to be introduced as coach for this season at the Tigres, as the club is also called. The time had come, at the end of May. The presentation by Hübner and Tapalovic followed in early July. All contracts signed until 2027.

“Tim has a certain standard when it comes to choosing clubs, and I was sure that if there was something interesting there, then I would like it too or at least make it attractive « , explains Hübner. The 41-year-old reports several investigations, not only Walter, but also Hübner and Tapalovic. In the end, it quickly became clear that the next stop could be in England. “The interest came relatively early.”

Tim Walter (left) and Julian Hübner together at HSV

Hull City already employed an assistant coach, Andy Dawson. As was the case for Polzin at HSV. “Andy knows everyone at the club, it would be a waste if we didn’t use that knowledge. He’s a club legend and a positive, good-natured guy. Things clicked with him right away. He is still learning about our playing philosophy because it is very different from the English way of playing. But he really cares about it and asks questions every day,” says Hübner.

On a sporting level, the results so far have been disappointing. Hull City are in the lower part of the table after the first third of the season, although – based on the squad value of €76.3 million – they are almost in the top third. However: at the end of last season the value was still 105 million euros and was the second highest. Several valuable talents have either been loaned out and returned to their parent clubs in the Premier League or moved permanently to the top flight.

Despite a mixed start, Hübner raves when talking about his new work. He was “too recently in love” with this task to allow negative things to get to him. « The combination is perfect: the three of us are doing something together again, the work is interesting because of the culture and the owner is really interested in us. » don’t earn less than in Germany. For an assistant coach, this is not a trivial factor because you cannot say in a few years: that’s it. » In the end, there were so many factors that were right for us to do this.

The family also came to Hull. Hübner emphasizes that without it it would not work for him. Family is “the most important thing”. Hübner has a wife, a six-year-old daughter and a two-year-old son. He had concerns for his daughter, particularly because of her friends in Hamburg and her schooling in England, but she was “cool about it.” His wife also persuaded him that they would get along well with the children. And thanks to her English studies, she had no problem with the move: “It was clear that it would be easier for her to go to England than to another country. »

After just a few months, Hübner is convinced that Hull City was “absolutely the right decision”. The stay in England has already had a positive impact on his future life: “Here there are moments from time to time when (Site notre bureau spécialisé) is a minor affair. The experience we get here, with the culture and the people, is actually the most exciting thing. » He concludes by saying: “I can make a living playing (Site notre bureau spécialisé) in England, on the weekends I am in the stadiums and when I am in England. I’m coming back When I come home, my family is waiting for me. It doesn’t get any better.