Burnley hire goalkeeper coach from Hoffenheim
Otte had been with Hoffenheim since June 2018
Written by Simon Austin — June 9, 2020
BURNLEY have appointed 29-year-old German Fabian Otte as their assistant goalkeeper coach, acting as a bridge between the Academy and first team.
Otte joined the Clarets last week after two years at Hoffenheim, where he worked latterly with the Under-23s in the regional fourth tier of German football. At Burnley, he will be a “transition coach”, working in the Academy and assisting first-team goalkeeping coach Billy Mercer.
Otte replaces Craig Mawson, who left Burnley after almost a decade to join Manchester United last December.
Burnley have an impressive record of developing goalkeepers over the last decade, with Tom Heaton and Nick Pope both going on to play for England. However, both were brought in from elsewhere and the Clarets hope Otte can help to bring through a homegrown goalkeeping star.
Heaton, who joined Aston Villa last summer, was a Manchester United product who joined Burnley from Bristol City in May 2013, while Pope is a Bury product who joined the club from Charlton in July 2016,
Mercer, who has been the Clarets goalkeeping coach since 2010, told Burnley's official website: “We have had a lot of success at first-team level with goalkeepers we have brought into the club.
“I had a chat with the gaffer and the chairman and said it would be nice if we could produce one of those through our own system. With the right people in the right places that will give us a better opportunity of bringing one through to get into the first team.
"He (Otte) will be a link between the Development Squad and the first team. He’s enthusiastic, wants to do well and with his qualifications and background getting him is a real coup for us.”
Otte has an impressive and varied CV, despite still only being in his twenties. During a stint in New Zealand he played for semi-pro team Three Kings United and went on to become goalkeeper coach for the women's national team.
He has first-class honours in international marketing from Newcastle University, has worked in brand management for Nike in Holland and returned to Germany with Hoffenheim in June 2018.
He said: "Germany has a really good culture, but English football is unique and very special. And the goalkeeping group at Burnley is unbelievable. All the goalkeepers in the group are very good but very different, which makes it interesting for a goalkeeping coach.
“We want a reputation where the best young keepers want to play for Burnley, and we can develop them and perhaps we won’t have to buy a goalkeeper anymore. I will be trying to develop our own through the younger age groups who can go on and play for the first team.”
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