The new GC coach Gerald Scheiblehner is not a typical football coach – he fought his way up from the bottom

Gerald Scheiblehner takes his seat. The new GC coach made the trip from Niederhasli to the office in downtown Zurich to preview the second league game in Basel. Before discussing himself and his view of GC, he briefed the five journalists present on the current situation ahead of the away game against the champions. As was the case during his introduction, there were hints that he might be "a slightly different coach," as Scheiblehner would later say.

"Those are just empty phrases," Scheiblehner said in response to the question of how he intends to compensate for the loss of captain Amir Abrashi. The absence of the leader can "only be compensated for as a team," he said.

Regarding the new loan player from FC Bayern Munich, Lovro Zvonarek, the first thing that comes to his mind is that he doesn't like Zvonarek because he conceded a goal for Sturm Graz in the cup round of 16 against Scheiblehner's former club last season. Only then does he praise the Croatian U-21 international's great potential. Is this a sneer from Austria or even irony?

Scheiblehner leans back on the sofa, and it soon becomes clear that the 48-year-old views himself and the football business with a certain distance. But irony, of course, has no place for Scheiblehner in a business where there is nothing more unironic than the power of results and league positions. In the opening match against Lucerne, GC suffered a 2-3 home defeat.

Scheiblehner says: "I don't need the job of football coach to feel good. I have my family and my friends, and that's what matters. Being in the public eye is part of the job, which I enjoy. But I don't need that for my well-being as a person." At first glance, that sounds humane and reasonable.

But it could also lead to the misconception that Scheiblehner lacks dedication to coaching. That would be an assumption contradicted by everyone who has dealt with him in recent years. "Incredibly hardworking, very meticulous, outstanding as a person," says Christoph Peschek, managing director of FC Blau-Weiss Linz, where Scheiblehner most recently worked. "Scheiblehner has made the team and the players better every season."

Perhaps one needs to go even further back in Scheiblehner's football biography to understand how he has developed a distance from the business and turned it into a strength so far. As a young footballer after graduating from high school, he was right in the thick of the business before dropping out and taking a detour that has now led him to the coaching position in Niederhasli.

"I was a very good player, maybe I lacked a bit of pace," he says of himself as a 19-year-old. Austria Vienna was the club where he was on the verge of becoming a professional 30 years ago. Times were different, the rules within the team were old-fashioned. The experienced players didn't talk to the younger players. Anyone who wanted to assert themselves had to run the gauntlet. Scheiblehner didn't like that.

As an example, he recounts his arrival in Turkey for a training camp. When the team was on the bus for the transfer to the hotel, the three youngest players had to get off, wait for their luggage, help with loading, and didn't get to bed until well after midnight. Scheiblehner says it's impossible to perform well that way. He protested, adding that only national team player and later Bundesliga coach Peter Stöger (now at Rapid Vienna) had an ear for the young players.

Is it worth it to become a professional? No, Scheiblehner played amateur football and worked for a health insurance company. He began coaching children and young people. After his playing days at clubs like Vöcklabruck, Wels, Donau Linz, and Wallern, he obtained his coaching license. He says he's always been interested in working with teams.

After playing in the amateur league, he signed with FC Blau-Weiss Linz in the second-highest league four years ago. The club was promoted in his second season. Surprisingly, Blau-Weiss is, alongside Lask, the smallest club in Linz with the smallest budget, founded in 1997 as the successor to SK Vöest and SK Austria Tabak. The new small stadium on the roof of a furniture warehouse seats just under 6,000 spectators. When Scheiblehner managed to stay in the league without a hitch in his first season after promotion, he received considerable recognition for his work.

Scheiblehner maintained a close relationship with former LASK coach Oliver Glasner (now in the Premier League with Crystal Palace), whose "clarity about what he wanted to see on the pitch" impressed Scheiblehner. He continued his collaboration with sociologist Werner Zöchling, who also advises Stöger and Glasner on team-building issues. He spent nights analyzing games to decipher tactical nuances and utilize them for his work.

"I don't have a name as a former professional or international player; nothing was handed to me," says Scheiblehner. He took it "step by step" – the next step was "the move abroad." A year ago, there were talks with Austria Vienna, Rapid Vienna expressed interest, and he was also once considered for Sturm Graz.

Last November, the first inquiry came from Harald Gärtner, the European head of the GC owners of Los Angeles FC. After a second attempt in January, the moment finally arrived in June, two days before the start of training in Linz: GC sporting director Alain Sutter called, after Scheiblehner hadn't heard anything from Sutter for a long time after initial discussions.

He wanted to "make a lot out of a little," Sutter said of his plans. Scheiblehner did exactly the same thing in Linz. Can it be repeated in Zurich? "I'm convinced of it," says Scheiblehner with a grin. He can adapt and has always worked with the available resources. The team is on board, and the new ideas are being embraced.

He started four weeks ago, and in three to six months, the new GC will also be noticeable on the course. That's how much time he's taking. What will come of it? "We'll see," he says.