German coaching duo at Trabzonspor: Strong penchant for prominence

When Thomas Reis started work in Trabzon on the Turkish Black Sea coast in mid-September, everything had to happen very quickly. On Tuesday evening, the former Bundesliga coach of VfL Bochum and Schalke 04 was frenetically welcomed by fans at the airport in the city of 820,000 inhabitants. On Thursday there was a ceremony at the Trabzon Stadium to mark his contract signing.

And on Saturday, Reis was already facing the biggest challenge that Turkish football has to offer. Champion Galatasaray arrived as undefeated league leaders - and flew back to Istanbul with a 0-4 defeat. Thanks to Reis’ clear speech to the team with whom he had drawn up his first match plan in his new job. And because he gave Mohamed Salah, the team's Egyptian superstar and triple goalscorer against Galatasaray, a lot of freedom in attack.

With eight goals in ten games, Salah, who plays a key role in Reis' ensemble, is currently third in the Süper Lig top scorers list. “Having a player at his level is perhaps the best thing that can happen to a coach,” enthuses Reis, who had a fairy-tale start with the seven-time Turkish champions: all five league games under his leadership were won – with a total of 15:3 goals. The club climbed from ninth place to third place in the table.

There are also two victories in the Conference League, and Reis’s odds have been flawless there too. The third opponent in the competition will be Bundesliga third-placed Freiburg on Thursday at the Papara Park stadium in the west of the city, including the loss from the recent 3-0 defeat in Monaco. There will be a crackling atmosphere in the 40,000-seat arena with its roof made of trapezoids and triangles. Just like Reis, who emphasized before his challenging debut against Galatasaray: “If you're afraid of big games, you're in the wrong place.”

Reis doesn't shy away from big names either. In Trabzon, alongside summer newcomer Salah, he trains the Brazilian midfielder Fabinho, who was brought in shortly before the start of the season and Salah's teammate in Liverpool from 2018 to 2023. Plus Cameroon national goalkeeper André Onana, on loan from Manchester United a few days before Reis’ arrival. Or the Portuguese offensive talent Noah Saviolo (22), also new to the squad.

When this illustrious staff found its way to Turkey, Reis was still coaching the Bulgarian record champions Ludogorets Razgrad. As soon as the offer came from Trabzon, he - thanks to the exit clause - called it a day in northeastern Bulgaria after just two months. After his successful time at Samsunspor (July 2024 to February 2026), this is the 53-year-old's second engagement in Turkey.

Trabzonspor played five of the seven games since Reis joined without conceding a goal. Also involved: Jérôme Boateng, another prominent figure at Papara Park. The 2014 world champion and two-time Champions League winner with Bayern Munich has been working as an assistant to Reis for three weeks. Before the duel with Freiburg, Boateng's boss commented on his job for the first time. "My new assistant coach isn't there to set up cones," Reis mentioned on LinkedIn - and specified: "In training he takes the defenders. He goes in, corrects, gives hints. Moving the chain. Pushing out. That's his area."

The former central defender didn't even get the opportunity to do a coaching internship at Bayern last fall. After massive fan protests, the Munich team and Boateng withdrew from the planned internship. Background to the protests: In July 2024, Boateng was found guilty by the Munich I Regional Court of intentional bodily harm to a former partner, sentenced to make donations to charitable institutions totaling 100,000 euros and warned.

When announcing the verdict, the presiding judge said that the accusation of the notorious wife beater could not be sustained. Boateng (38) is not considered to have a criminal record. The 76-time international player denies ever hitting a woman. At Trabzonspor, Boateng has given up his initial reluctance, Reis now mentions on the online network LinkedIn. Rather, it would now look like this: "When he says something to the boys, it has value. Because he knows what he's talking about." The coach doesn't write anything about the allegations against Boateng.