{"id":733347,"date":"2026-08-10T09:44:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T09:44:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/733347\/"},"modified":"2026-08-10T09:44:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T09:44:15","slug":"nottingham-forests-oliver-glasner-on-key-dinner-with-marinakis-playing-tennis-at-wimbledon-and-his-amazing-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/733347\/","title":{"rendered":"Nottingham Forest\u2019s Oliver Glasner on key dinner with Marinakis, playing tennis at Wimbledon and his \u2018amazing\u2019 journey"},"content":{"rendered":"

In humble surroundings in the Austrian village of Riedau<\/a>, at 15 years old, Oliver Glasner\u2019s football journey began.<\/p>\n

The teenager was not intimidated by being up against players twice his age as he took his first steps in the sixth tier of the domestic league with his local team.<\/p>\n

The memory of those days at the modest, riverside Allianz Pramtal Arena tells a tale about Glasner\u2019s character, as he begins a new chapter of his career as Nottingham Forest head coach.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I came into the first team in my village, we played with a back three,\u201d Glasner says. \u201cI was the libero. That role normally goes to a 35-year-old who cannot run. My manager found it incredible, because those old guys would listen to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tried to understand the game and coach the others, to help them. I enjoy doing that. I think that is why I still take over the training sessions now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the past two years, Glasner has secured Crystal Palace their first major silverware, in the form of the FA Cup, the Community Shield and a UEFA Conference League title.<\/p>\n

Since his Forest appointment in July, his new players have painted a picture of a demanding character who expects intensity and focus.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never wanted to be a manager,\u201d says Glasner, 52 this month, speaking to outlets including The Athletic at Forest\u2019s pre-season training camp in Vilamoura, Portugal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I finished college, I joined SV Ried. They were in the second league in Austria. I had studied sports and geography \u2014 I wanted to be a teacher. When we got promoted in 1995, I decided to accept a professional contract. I was there for 18 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

While he was a player \u2014 he made 516 appearances for SV Ried \u2014 Glasner studied for a degree in economics. It took him seven years to complete, and left a hole in his life when he finished.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Austria, we had a winter break,\u201d he says. \u201cThere was a coaching course for players. My wife (Bettina) told me I should do it\u2026 I think she wanted me out of the house.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am a workaholic. I always need to do something. She says it was the worst advice she ever gave, because I am rarely at home. That\u2019s how my career started.\u201d<\/p>\n

Glasner began his coaching journey at Red Bull Salzburg, before a return to SV Ried as manager for a single season, followed by a move to another Austrian side, LASK \u2014 leading them to top-flight promotion and qualification for the Europa League and then the Champions League.<\/p>\n

He next guided German side Wolfsburg into the same two European competitions, before joining fellow Bundesliga outfit Eintracht Frankfurt \u2014 where he won the Europa League in 2022, with his side beating Rangers of Scotland in the final on penalties.<\/p>\n

The subsequent successes with Palace ensured he was in demand when he found himself looking for a fresh challenge at the end of last season.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Oliver Glasner celebrates Europa League success with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022 (Alex Grimm\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Forest had made contact with Glasner more than once before, when he was being courted by other clubs around Europe. It required a meeting with their owner Evangelos Marinakis in Athens to finally convince him it was the right job for him.<\/p>\n

Glasner told Marinakis there were two things that convinced him to take over at the City Ground.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Number one is there is more potential in the squad\u2019,\u201d recalls Glasner. \u201c\u2018And number two is you \u2014 it\u2019s your ambition, because I am very ambitious. I always want to improve\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a fantastic dinner and spoke about everything. I had my best times (in football) when we exceeded expectations. I am in the second half of my life, and I don\u2019t want to be in a negative mood. When everyone is happy, life is lovely.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we achieve, or maybe overachieve, then, yeah, I have done a good job. And that\u2019s what I get satisfaction from \u2014 it\u2019s not lifting a trophy when everyone expects it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Glasner realises clubs with greater revenues have a big advantage in terms of chasing silverware and success, even if Forest have made a significant number of signings in recent seasons. But he does not believe there should be a limit on their ambitions.<\/p>\n

\u201cArsenal, City, Liverpool, Chelsea\u2026 they can all spend so much,\u201d he says, \u201cbut it should not be our goal to play European football once. We should not be a one-hit wonder.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do we have to do to become established in the top half? You have to have a strategy \u2014 steps you set to help you consistently develop and improve. This is Forest\u2019s fifth season in the Premier League. There have been ups and downs, now we must create the environment and monitor the things that we have to change to help us achieve consistency.\u201d<\/p>\n

In July, Forest agreed a club record \u00a3116million ($153m) deal to sell England international midfielder Elliot Anderson to Manchester City<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a price where you have to sell \u2014 for everybody,\u201d says Glasner. \u201cAs a club, when you are ambitious, you sell either due to financial reasons or to become better. It\u2019s a chance, with the money we\u2019ve got (from City), to strengthen. Not in his position: it\u2019s really, really difficult to get a better player. But, if we spend this money wisely, we can improve in a few positions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Glasner does not expect to part with any other key figures this summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all know we can\u2019t sell five (players), because then we get weaker \u2014 and we want to become stronger,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will always be a price (for any player), but if we think, \u2018If we sell a player and if we invest this money, then we can get better\u2019, then we would accept the offer. But if we think we can\u2019t replace this player, we won\u2019t do it, because we don\u2019t have financial issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout Morgan Gibbs-White\u2019s goals (15 in the Premier League last season), we would probably have been relegated. He is already at a top level, but I can help him and improve his game \u2014 maybe in a few little parts. He has a very high influence (in the team). Morgan has everything. He can finish, he can assist. He\u2019s very important.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Oliver Glasner thinks he can help improve Morgan Gibbs-White\u2019s game even further (Carlos Rodrigues\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Glasner\u2019s family will remain in Austria for now.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe boys (Julian and Niklas)\u00a0will come to the Leeds game,\u201d he says of the opening match of the season at home on Saturday, August 22. \u201cMy daughter (Alina) has just turned 16. That\u2019s the toughest part of being a manager. We are here, and the children have their birthday (there). It\u2019s not how you want to be. We try to see each other every second week.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy daughter is doing track and field and is quite successful. She won the national championships 100m and 200m at under-16, and now she is under-18. She wanted to qualify for the European Championships \u2014 she missed it by 0.03 seconds.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the recent 2-0 pre-season win against League One neighbours Notts County, Glasner and his staff went to watch England\u2019s World Cup dramatic, 10-goal third-place play-off defeat of France at a sports bar in Nottingham. The coaches also play regular games of padel together and, when asked how he likes to relax, Glasner tells an unexpected story.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was lucky to play a few times at Wimbledon \u2014 once on the grass,\u201d he says. \u201cThere was a season-ticket holder at Crystal Palace (who) is a member at Wimbledon, and he invited me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI played with (former British No 1) Kyle Edmund and also with Dominic Thiem, the Austrian player. We had dinner. But at Wimbledon, you need to wear a jacket and tie. Thiem was once No 3 in the world, but he came (to dinner) wearing sneakers. They let us in, but he had to keep his shoes under the table.\u201d<\/p>\n

Glasner talks at length about the pitfalls of social media and how he tries to encourage his players to stay away from those platforms<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best thing is not to read anything,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I still always get some information \u2014 my mum, she is 78, she reads everything. She always texts me asking, \u2018Is this right?\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

From growing up in a village with a population of around 2,000, Glasner\u2019s Forest will begin their competitive season in front of over 30,000 spectators at the City Ground in 12 days\u2019 time.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n (Harriet Massey\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cI must pinch myself to believe it. But \u2014 and I hope it\u2019s how you get to know me \u2014 I don\u2019t think I\u2019m somebody (who\u2019s) better (than others),\u201d he says. \u201cWhen I grew up, my mum was a single mum. We didn\u2019t really have money, but I had everything that I needed. I had a great family, great friends, food to eat.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, yes, I\u2019m in this massive world. But I will never forget my roots. I\u2019m (not) better than somebody else. When I see the waiter carrying his tray, I open the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can deliver the message to somebody to say, \u2018Everything is possible\u2019. If you had told me this (story of his career), I would say, \u2018Please visit the doctor\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cTen years ago, I was managing in the Austrian second league and now, (after winning) two European trophies, I am (still) the little kid from Riedau. I go to watch my son playing football there and my best friends are still my childhood friends. I never take anything for granted.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I go to the City Ground and hear the fans singing before a game, I will get goosebumps. When I was a kid, I lived close to the border, so we had three German and two Austrian TV channels. You could only watch international football. That was it. And now, wow, I\u2019m part of this.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been an amazing journey.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In humble surroundings in the Austrian village of Riedau, at 15 years old, Oliver Glasner\u2019s football journey began.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":733348,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[115,221,101,118,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-733347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-nottingham-forest","tag-premier-league","tag-sports","tag-tennis","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/733347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=733347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/733347\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/733348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=733347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=733347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=733347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}