Jürgen Klopp has brought his long-time strategist Marc Kosicke into his new role as Germany's national team coach. Kosicke will serve as assistant coach for strategy, development and innovation at the DFB, formalizing a partnership spanning two decades. The appointment marks Klopp's first major staff decision since taking charge of the national team.
Kosicke, a Bremen native and lifelong Werder supporter, stepped down as managing director of his company Projekt Five to join Klopp full-time. Known as Klopp's "shadow man," he has advised the legendary coach throughout his managerial career, offering strategic insight into club culture and organizational development. His new DFB role will focus on shaping how Germany's football programme evolves tactically and institutionally under Klopp's leadership.
The Architect of Bayern Munich's Mia San Mia
While Kosicke operates behind the scenes, his fingerprints appear in unexpected places. In 2008, he played a decisive role in creating Bayern Munich's iconic "Mia san mia" slogan—a phrase now synonymous with the Bavarian club's identity. The story reveals how this unlikely collaboration unfolded.
During a flight to a FIFA event in Switzerland, Kosicke encountered Bayern president Uli Hoeneß. Hoeneß complained that his own players lacked clarity about what Bayern Munich fundamentally represented. When asked to define the club's essence, Hoeneß admitted he had no clear answer. Seizing the moment, Kosicke proposed developing a corporate philosophy similar to what major brands like Nike and Adidas maintain—a complete corporate bible outlining core values and messaging.
What followed was a four-week process involving a diverse working group: staff from the fan shop, marketing department, the kit man, youth coordinator, and chief scout Wolfgang Dremmler. Together they identified 16 guiding principles, including "We are a family and stand up for one another" and "We do not communicate about one another in public." Yet the slogan itself came fully formed to Kosicke during that initial plane conversation—he simply waited for the right moment to unveil it.
For the board presentation, Kosicke bound prototype copies in authentic lederhosen leather. When he revealed "Mia san mia," the room erupted. Hoeneß joked that the initial typesetting read "Mir san mir"—a Bavarian dialect confusion that required correction by the Bremen-born strategist unfamiliar with Bavarian nuance. Having assigned all rights to the slogan, Kosicke disappeared from the story, allowing Bayern to claim full ownership.
Now at the German Football Association, Kosicke brings this same philosophy of organizational clarity and cultural coherence to a team preparing for future tournaments under Klopp's innovative vision.
