Opposition Check: SpVgg Greuther Fürth

What is your purpose of existence? Don’t worry, this section won’t devolve into a philosophy seminar—even if it sounds like it at first. Rather, it’s a central question in the life of Jan Siewert, the current head coach of SpVgg Greuther Fürth. The „purpose of existence“—or ZDE for short—comes from one of his favourite books, „The Café on the Edge of the World“ by John Strelecky, and describes the answer to the big question of why we are in this world and what we want to achieve. For Siewert, there are many answers.

One of these many answers is music: „I listen to everything, from hip-hop to pop to rock. The songs just have to have a lot of energy,“ says Siewert, describing his taste in music—just like his idea of ​​high-energy football. Another of his passions is „Dippekuchen“—his favourite dish, a hearty potato dish from the Eifel region that was once considered „poor man’s food,“ but today represents home and identity for Siewert. In his free time, the coach also likes to be inspired by series such as Ted Lasso – a series in which an unconventional coach convinces people with humanity, humour and optimism.

Luca Itter, a defender in Fürth, describes his coach as someone who has „fire in his arse.“ And perhaps this fire is actually geologically determined – after all, Jan Siewert was born in Mayen in the Volcanic Eifel region. Fortunately for the residents, the volcanoes in the Eifel region have not shown any activity for thousands of years. This is behaviour that Siewert would not tolerate in his players. Because his highest principle is – and he emphasises this regularly – activity, especially on the football field.

Siewert’s coaching career is as multifaceted as his interests. After stints as assistant coach for the German national team’s youth teams and as head coach at Rot-Weiss Essen, the English club Huddersfield Town, and FSV Mainz 05, he took over as coach of the Kleeblätter this season.

And who knows – perhaps Fürth is exactly the place where Siewert’s personal „purpose of existence“ in football will be further fulfilled.

Greuther Fürth is more successful than almost any other team in the 2. Bundesliga at drawing fouls through skillful dribbling. In terms of penalties awarded, the Cloverleaf share second place with SC Paderborn – each team has been awarded six penalties so far. Fürth have suffered four fouls, and two penalties were awarded for handballs by the opposition. Back to the overall statistics: Only Fortuna Düsseldorf (8) has been awarded more penalties. Fürth also ranks fifth in terms of free kicks awarded.

Felix Klaus couldn’t hold it any longer – he simply ran. Straight to the fans, to the approximately 2,000 Fürth supporters who were allowed to witness his big moment. But the then 19-year-old didn’t get far. As soon as the ball hit the net and the cheers erupted, his teammates grabbed him and, in a frenzy of joy, threw him to the ground.

„That was actually a straight red,“ Klaus grinned after the game – with a wink, of course. And he certainly had reason to smile: With his first Bundesliga goal, the youngster wrote a small piece of club history and became the first goalscorer for what was then the 52nd club ever to play in Germany’s top division.

„This is an incredible feeling for me,“ said Klaus, who was unexpectedly thrown in at the deep end by then-Kleeblatt coach Mike Büskens in the 2012 Bundesliga opener against FC Bayern.

That all happened 13 years ago, and a lot has changed since then. One thing, however, seems to have stayed the same: Felix Klaus, who played for Fürth’s youth and senior teams from 2007 to 2013, has been donning the green and white jersey again since January 2025. „It’s coming home for me. I had great discussions with the management and now I want to help ensure we have a good second half of the season,“ said Felix Klaus on the sidelines of his contract signing with the Franconian club.

The now 32-year-old still demonstrates why he was once capped three times for the German U21 national team: Since joining Greuther Fürth, he has started all eight matches and collected five assists. If he can maintain this level of performance throughout the second half of the season, his goal of a successful second half of the season with Fürth could very well come true.