Barnsley's Valérien Ismaël: 'Magath told us to go to the pitch. It was 4am'

09-Dec-2020 09:02:10 | The Guardian

Championship club’s manager on life at Bayern Munich, fighting racism and giving money to help repair a local brass band’s tubas

Perhaps the most mystifying Felix Magath tale is the one concerning Brede Hangeland’s thigh and cream cheese. He also purportedly had Fulham players doing sprints on Surrey Hills the day before matches and Valérien Ismaël, who won the double under Magath at Bayern Munich, has another peach of a story to add to the collection. “We got back to the training ground in the morning after a draw and the first thing he said was: ‘OK, we go straight to the pitch’, for a normal session,” he says. “It was 4am … it was a very big surprise because you are upset, tired, and you just want to go home.”

So, what on earth was Magath like after a defeat? “At the time we won almost all the games, which was a good thing … that is why I only have good memories of the season,” Ismaël says, smiling. For someone who played at the highest level, alongside Oliver Kahn and against Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the former defender must have a mountain of anecdotes but, beyond declaring Zé Roberto the best player he had the pleasure of calling a teammate, they must wait, because Ismael is making his mark at Barnsley. The 45-year-old, who guided the Austrian club Lask to the last 16 of the Europa League last season before coming unstuck against Manchester United, is the conductor of one of the Championship’s most entertaining sides. “It’s not boring when you see our games,” he says, to put it succinctly.