Divorce sent Zorniger to OB: ‘I needed to feel good’

Lasse Vøge, sports editor

Needed Denmark.

On Saturday afternoon, top German coach Alexander Zorniger suddenly stood in front of the substitutes’ benches at Odense Stadium – where he was presented as the new head coach of OB.

Few people would have thought that the job at a Danish promotion club would be particularly interesting for a former Bundesliga coach who a handful of years ago was fighting for the Danish championship.

But his private life has recently taken a turn that meant that the 57-year-old German needed Denmark again.

After 12 years of marriage, he recently divorced the mother of his two children, aged eight and six. 

“Due to my private situation, I needed a place where I could feel comfortable. And everyone knows what I think of Denmark,” Alexander Zorniger tells B.T.

With two small children coming to visit on holidays – the time was not right for unknown destinations.

“Denmark will always be an option for me. And also for my family. My children were both born in Denmark. So the development in my private life contributed to me seeing OB as a match.”

Photo: Liselotte Sabroe/Ritzau Scanpix Show more Photo: Liselotte Sabroe/Ritzau Scanpix

Alexander Zorniger and OB’s sports director, Troels Bech, only signed the three-year contract late on Friday evening, so on Saturday the German coach had not even considered his future housing situation in Funen.

But I remember that you were excited about living by the water when you coached Brøndby …

“I would love to live by the sea again. I haven’t quite got the geography down yet. I don’t know how big Odense is – whether the city touches the sea. I just know that there are some small bays. ”

“But the sea helped me a lot during my time at Brøndby. After a stressful day, it gave me a lot to come back to Solrød Strand and then just have a few meters down to the sea.” 

“It really gave me a lot – I would love to do the same here,” says the new boss in Odense.

Needed Denmark.

On Saturday afternoon, top German coach Alexander Zorniger suddenly stood at an urgently called press conference in front of the substitutes’ benches at Odense Stadium – where he was introduced as the new head coach of OB.

Few people would have thought that the job at a Danish promotion club would be particularly interesting for a former Bundesliga coach who, a handful of years ago, was fighting for the Danish championship.

But his private life has recently taken a turn that meant the 57-year-old German needed Denmark again.

After 12 years of marriage, he recently divorced the mother of his two children, aged eight and six.

“Due to my private situation, I needed a place where I could feel comfortable. And everyone knows what I think of Denmark,” Alexander Zorniger tells B.T.

With two small children coming to visit for the holidays – it wasn’t time for unknown destinations.

“Denmark will always be an opportunity for me. And also for my family. My children were both born in Denmark. So the development in my private life helped me see OB as a match.”

Alexander Zorniger and OB’s sports director, Troels Bech, only signed the three-year contract late Friday evening, so the German coach had not considered his future housing situation in Funen at all on Saturday.

But I remember that you were excited about living by the water when you coached Brøndby…

“I would love to live by the sea again. I haven’t quite got the geography down yet. I don’t know how big Odense is – whether the city touches the sea. I just know that there are some small bays.”

“But the sea helped me a lot during my time at Brøndby. After a stressful day, it gave me a lot to come back to Solrød Strand and then be just a few meters from the sea.” 

“It really gave me a lot – I would love to do the same here,” says the new boss in Odense.

window.EmbeddedFunctionLoad = true;