Everyday work, transfers & visions: That's what Hannes Fink says

Just as he appeared as a professional footballer, he also comes across as an official: respectful, always friendly and courteous. The 33-year-old took part in the Serie B club's Media Day in Naturns SportNews Time to have a detailed conversation. The former midfielder has known FC Südtirol for over 20 years, having joined the club as a youth player at the age of 12. Since then he has experienced all developments first hand.

After ultimately playing 291 professional games (15 goals) and the long-awaited promotion to Serie B, Fink ended his active career last year. Since then, he has been working as the right hand of sports director Paolo Bravo, with whom he says he maintains a strong relationship of trust. At the Hotel Lindenhof in Naturns says Fink SportNews above...

...his area of responsibility: “I look after all areas of the club that involve sport. The most important point is the first team. I work very closely with sports director Bravo. It's about squad planning and transfer processing, as well as communication with foreign player agents. I am also always in contact with the medical department and the entire coaching staff. I also look after young people. We have now employed around 50 people here too. I see myself as a link. In any case, my work is varied and I am very happy with it.”

...the end of his career: “It was definitely the right decision to end my playing career. I have never missed the field before. I can still live football, just from a different perspective. Ultimately, I was able to make the decision to end my career voluntarily. Then it's easier to accept it. It would have been harder for me to finish the chapter if I had had to step down for health reasons, for example.”

Hannes Fink led the FCS onto the field as captain for many years. © Alfred Tschager

...the new Primavera trainer: "If Frederick Valente could one day take over the FCS professional team? You can't rule anything out. He certainly has the ambition to coach a first team at some point. But first he’s putting his full focus on the FCS juniors.”

...the next local FCS professional: “We don’t want to keep the squad in the first team too big, so that our own youth players can also do that Raphael Kofler or Luis Buzi can train there. You have a lot of potential. We try to build players who carry on our values. Fabian Tait serves as a role model here. There are two or three candidates who could take on this role in the distant future. Of course it would be best if they came from South Tyrol.” “There are certainly 2 to 3 candidates who could slip into the role of Fabian Tait at some point.” Hannes Fink ...missing foreign transfers: “The first step was to build relationships and trust abroad. Because there are so many agencies that offer players these days. We don't yet have a large network abroad and, for example, 60 scouts like a Serie A club has. But we were close with one or two players. In the end it didn’t work out yet.”

...the core market of FCS: “Professional scouting of a player does not refer to 5 to 6 months, but to 5 to 6 years. In Italy we evaluate every player from Serie D to Serie A. The scouts look at the individual players at least two to three times a year. Then we designed a portfolio about a player and also built a network there. We first have to build this up slowly abroad. There are many middlemen and advisors in football. The first thing to do here is to filter out who we can trust.”

Hannes Kiem (left) is now acting as a youth coach at FC Südtirol.

. ..a local FCS head coach: "Everything can happen. The coach is always the most important person in the club - also because he represents the club most often to the outside world. Pierpaolo Bisoli does that perfectly. We try to train South Tyrolean coaches in our youth who have already optimally represented the club's values in the past. Hannes Kiem, for example, is a perfect fit for FC Südtirol. I am convinced that he will make his way with us. I have also spoken to Manuel Scavone about various things. No commitment has been made for this season yet, but I don’t want to rule anything out for the future.”

Serie B Italy	SP	TV	P
1. Sassuolo	15	31:12	34
2. Step on	15	27:14	31
3. Specia	15	22:10	30
4. Cremonese	15	23:17	24
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6. Juventus Stabia	16	17:19	22
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Everyday work, transfers & visions: That's what Hannes Fink says

Hannes Fink wore the FC Südtirol professional jersey for 16 years. A year ago, Rittner moved from the playing field to the desk. We spoke to the technical director of the FCS about, among other things, his tasks, the transfer market and the future of the club he loves.

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