Europe’s longest-serving club coach survives in the Bundesliga again in his 709th game

DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) — The longest-serving coach in any major men’s European soccer league has written another chapter in a remarkable career.

Now he just wants a rest.

A last-minute goal on Monday gave Heidenheim and its coach Frank Schmidt, who’s nearing 18 years in charge, a win which guaranteed survival in the Bundesliga for another season.

It was Schmidt’s 709th game with a club he’s taken from a regional league in southwestern Germany to the top division, beating Bayern Munich and facing the likes of Chelsea in the Europa Conference League.

“I’ve given all my energy to the team and it was very important, but now I’m empty,” Schmidt told broadcaster Sky after Leo Scienza’s added-time goal sealed a 4-3 aggregate win over Elversberg in the promotion-relegation playoff.

“No one needs to call me tomorrow, I won’t be contactable, because I’m going away. I need the energy to prepare for the new season.”

Winning ‘El Dorfico’

The town of Heidenheim is home to 50,000 people and Schmidt’s team is usually the underdog against clubs with more history, trophies and fans.

It was the other way round on Monday. Heidenheim’s opponent was Elversberg, another team which has risen from regional leagues to the national stage in recent years. It comes from a town of just 13,000 people.

German fans dubbed the game “El Dorfico,” a play on Barcelona and Real Madrid’s El Clasico rivalry and the German word “Dorf,” or village.

Heidenheim seemed to be tiring as the game entered stoppage time but Brazilian winger Scienza burst down the left flank to score the winner to start Heidenheim’s celebrations.

It was a narrow escape for Heidenheim, which finished an impressive eighth in the Bundesliga last season to qualify for the Europa Conference League but struggled to cope with the extra games this year.

A place in history

The soccer world looked very different in September 2007 when Schmidt first coached Heidenheim in a regional cup game against Olympia Laupheim reserves.

David Beckham had just made his debut for the Los Angeles Galaxy after a shock move from Madrid, while Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United was the team to beat in England.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were successful young players at United and Barcelona, respectively, but neither had yet won the Ballon d’Or prize for best player in the world. They now have 13 Ballon d’Or awards between them.

Schmidt’s tenure with Heidenheim makes Pep Guardiola’s nine years at Manchester City or Diego Simeone’s 13-year stint at Atletico Madrid look short by comparison. He’s still some way short of historical greats like Ferguson (26 years at United) or Arsene Wenger (22 years at Arsenal).

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