New York Red Bulls Head of Sport Jochen Schneider set forth his vision for the club -- both short- and long-term -- in his first press conference with the club.
"I'm here to help the team, the coaching staff, everybody, to develop this club, to develop our team," Schneider said. "To be able to get wins and to win trophies. That is what this sport is about."
Schneider, 51, has oversight on all aspects of the sporting side of the club. Sporting Director Denis Hamlett remains in charge of day-to-day soccer operations and reports to Schneider.
Schneider was adamant, and wanted the club's fans to understand, that he's here to help RBNY win.
"It's important for me to tell our fans -- who are great and always create a special atmosphere in this wonderful arena here, one of the best in this country -- that I am happy to work for a unique soccer club, an independent soccer club in the family of Red Bull," Schneider said. "We are not a farm team, and this is very important for me to point out. We are here to develop players and to win trophies, and therefore I'm very excited to be part of this wonderful family."
Before his appointment with New York, Schneider held the position of Head of Sport and Communication at Schalke 04 FC. His career in soccer began in 1999 at VfB Stuttgart as an assistant to former Head of Sport Rolf Rüssmann.
"To be honest, even after three weeks, I love this team," Schneider said. "I could immediately feel that we have a great group of players, an amazing coaching team, the staff; they all work together. I could feel immediately that there was a fantastic energy in our facility; that there's a great connection between coaching team and the players."Even though Schneider has only been here for a few weeks, he said he can already tell that the club is something special -- from the players, the coaches and the staff with RBNY.
Head Coach Gerhard Struber and Schneider go way back, the Head of Sport said.
"I know Gerhard for many, many years," Schneider said. "Great coach. A pure Red Bull soccer coach. Full of energy. His work ethic is amazing. He speaks the language of the players and he's able to teach the way of football, or soccer, that we want to see."
The two already have had plenty of discussions about the team and the league.
"It's great to work together with him. We have a very good relationship, and it's great spending time with him and talking about soccer with him, about MLS -- but also about European football," Schneider said. "I really feel privileged to work together with him."
In 2015, Schneider joined the Red Bull soccer family, when he took on the role of Coordinator Sport Global Soccer. In June 2017, he was promoted to Head of Sport & Internationalization for RB Leipzig, working closely with Ralf Rangnick.
Schneider spoke about the ethos he plans to bring to the club, from the style of play on the pitch to the strategy of building rosters.
"We don't copy any other club and we do it our way, the Red Bull way, and we are convinced that this is the right one," Schneider said.
He also said that the right player for the club could also be one with more veteran experience.
"I would not rule out [signing] one or two experienced players in the future," Schneider said. "I wouldn't rule that out, but mainly, we focus on high potential players. This is the Red Bull way."
He said he's fully aware what the fans and the team want to see at the end of a season.
"I know and I fully understand, for sure, that our fans and supporters want to see an MLS Cup in this building and want to see the Open Cup in this building for sure," Schneider said. "Winning three times the Supporter Shield, which is great achievement, this is more than something."
Schneider said the upcoming transfer window will be an important one for New York.
"We will do something in the upcoming transfer windows in order to strengthen our roster -- but again -- we will do it our own way and we don't copy any other club," Schneider said.
At the end of the day, the outlook is simple.
"The vision and the goal is to win trophies," Schneider said.
