Matthias Jaissle, the head coach of Newcastle, carries a different story with football, one that began with severe hardship in his childhood before turning into a long journey of challenges and successes.
At the age of five, Jaissle suffered from a tumor in his neck, to the extent that he was unable to move it left or right, and it was unclear at the time whether he would be able to play football in the future.
The German coach said, according to Bild newspaper: "I learned a lot about life, the importance of health, how grateful humans are for it, and their ability to achieve their dreams."
But illness did not prevent him from chasing his dream. In the summer of 2003, when he was 14 years old, he joined the Stuttgart academy, where he spent four years before moving to Hoffenheim in 2007.
In 2008, Jaissle was part of the Hoffenheim team that achieved promotion to the Bundesliga, before getting the opportunity to represent the Germany U21 national team the following year, but he suffered a severe setback with an anterior cruciate ligament tear.
Jaissle recalls that period saying: "I had just been called up to the Germany U21 national team and was about to join the senior national team for the first time. Then I suffered an ACL tear."
He adds: "It was a difficult time. I was completely devastated then. I heard stories about recovery within four months, and I believed them completely, but after four months I was still in a wheelchair."
The ACL injury was not the end of his suffering, as he later suffered a meniscus tear and Achilles tendon problems, before his playing career ended prematurely in 2014, starting a new chapter in his life from the coaching bench.
Jaissle entered the world of coaching and achieved notable success with Salzburg, leading the team to win the Austrian league twice and the Austrian Cup, before embarking on a new experience with Newcastle in the English Premier League since this summer.
Jaissle believes that the difficulties he went through shaped his personality and philosophy in life, saying: "Belief in your ability to overcome any obstacle. Every setback has a positive side, and if you overcome these challenges, you usually become stronger and more resilient."
