Southampton director of football Johannes Spors has admitted that he would be tempted with a return to Germany.
Sport 1 have an interview with the Southampton director today. He discusses various topics, including his own future.
Spors has only been in place at Southampton since February this year, joining them from Australian side Melbourne Victory.
It’s the latest role in a varied career since 2015, that’s seen him work as an analyst and head of scouting at Hoffenheim, chief scout at RB Leipzig, chief scout at Hamburg, technical director at Vitesse, CEO at Genoa and then global sports director at Vasco de Gama, Red Star FC, Standard Liege, Genoa and Melbourne Victory.
He’s yet to return to his native Germany after leaving Hamburg in 2019. But he has been linked with a return to his native land on several occasions.
Indeed, rumours over the last month have indicated that he was on Wolfsburg’s shortlist to fill their vacant director of football role. That, though, appears to be going to someone else.
Southampton means being away from family
Spors isn’t ruling out a return at some point, though. In fact, he admits it’s hard to be away from his family in Southampton.
“At Vitesse, in Genoa, and now in Southampton, I was fortunate to be able to work with full sporting expertise and short decision-making processes,” he said.
“That was always more important to me than geography. But of course, Germany is home. My family lives in Heidelberg, and I follow the Bundesliga very closely. The appeal of returning is there – but I also feel comfortable in Italy and England.
“Often very difficult (to be away). I have three wonderful children. At the same time, they also get a lot out of it: They have a stable home, travel a lot, and experience other countries, languages, and cultures.
“We manage to see each other often – through many direct flights, digital workdays, or when they visit me. London to Frankfurt – that’s about 20 direct flights a day (laughs).”
