New Crystal Palace boss looked to Golden State Warriors in quest for managerial edge

BY ANDREW MCSTEEN

Oliver Glasner has said he spent time with NBA side Golden State Warriors during his managerial break before taking the Crystal Palace job.

Glasner’s return to management this month marked the end of an eight-month period out of the game after he left former club Eintracht Frankfurt at the end of last season. The 49-year-old had been due to join the Eagles at the end of this season, but this was pushed forward due to the health issues forcing Roy Hodgson to step down earlier than expected.

“It’s a great pleasure for me to work as a coach in the Premier League at a club as rich in tradition as Crystal Palace – I’m really looking forward to it,” said Glasner in his mother tongue Austrian-German at the Beckenham training ground last Friday.

“I was at home for a few months, [but] I’ve felt the tingling sensation coming back. The opportunity arose a little earlier than planned, but then it was like that and I’m now looking forward to the task of winning as many games as possible in the Premier League at Palace.”

Last October, Glasner went to the USA, to observe and “sit in” on the Golden State Warriors NBA basketball franchise, based in San Francisco.

The franchise had a historic dynasty in recent years, in many aspects similar to the heyday of Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United, and is led by the global superstar Steph Curry, with Glasner’s trip Stateside just one of many positives he could take from his time away from football.

“It was nice to see that there is a life outside of football, to decide for yourself when to do and what,” he said. “The [football] schedule dictates everything, but just maybe being at home for your own child’s birthday and not at an away game somewhere, or just say ‘wow, the weather’s nice, let’s go skiing at the weekend’, I enjoyed that time too.

“I also tried to educate myself in different areas, to keep exchanging ideas, including other sports. I was with the Golden State Warriors NBA team and spent a week there to gain experience. [With] other sports maybe you can take one or two things with you.

“Of course, I’ve seen a lot of football matches, but then I thought to myself that I’d like to be right in the middle of these games, to feel these emotions, to work with the guys on the training pitch every day. The tingling has come back more and more and is now fully back.”

Those emotions were in evidence on Saturday as he watched his new side eventually overcome Burnley 3-0 at Selhurst Park, the Austrian’s enthusiastic celebrations on the sidelines something which the SE25 crowd have not seen for some time.

However, addressing the question of whether he could replicate the success at Palace of former club Eintracht Frankfurt, who rose up through the ranks to win the Europa League and then qualify for the Champions League, Glasner was quick to focus on the here-and-now.

“Crystal Palace have never finished in the top nine positions of the Premier League, so to be talking about the European Cup or maybe even winning a cup is too far away,” said the coach, who played more than 500 games for the Austrian side SV Ried over a decade.

“It doesn’t help Crystal Palace or me; we’re living in the here and now and we want to take the team and the players forward step-by-step, win as many games as possible [and] we’ll see what comes out of it.”