Danny Rohl helped Robert Lewandowski and Bayern to treble glory but insane Sheffield Wednesday feat would top it all
Danny Rohl may be the youngest manager in the EFL, but he'll need his elite-level coaching experience to get Sheffield Wednesday out of trouble.
Following the sacking of Xisco Munoz in October 2023, the 34-year-old German arrived at Hillsborough to a collective shrug of the shoulders with inexperience being the overwhelming verdict.
In fact, what the Owls did was bring in someone with a reputation as one of the best young coaches in Europe.
Like so many talented coaches, Rohl's playing career was stopped in its track as a teenager when he suffered a knee injury - this led him to study sports science and spend his 20s rising through the ranks as a youth coach with RB Leipzig.
It was there that he worked with ex-Manchester United chief Ralf Rangnick and Ralph Hasenhüttl, the latter of whom he followed to England when Hasenhuttl was named Southampton boss in December 2018.
The following year he returned to Germany with Bayern Munich under Niko Kovac, before staying to work with Hansi Flick and Julian Nagelsmann during his two-year stay, before joining Flick with Germany's national team.
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During this time he won Bundesliga titles, German Cups and even a Champions League in 2020 - not to mention going to the World Cup with Germany in 2022.
It was after that when Rohl looked to go out on his own and pursue a managerial career of his own.
Having worked with stars including Robert Lewandowski, who top scored with 15 goals in the Champions League en route to winning football's biggest club prize, Thomas Muller, Antonio Rudiger and Ilkay Gundogan, a job with Sheffield Wednesday was undoubtedly a grounding opportunity, but one he was ready for.
Speaking at his unveiling, Rohl said: "I've prepared the last 10 years for this situation and now the dream's come true to be here.
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"I am very prepared. I have a clear identity and philosophy in my mind. This is the reason why I'm here now."
The challenge was clear: Help Sheffield Wednesday to avoid an immediate return to League One - a task that looked near-impossible with the club boasting just three points from 11 Championship fixtures.
Discussing Sheffield Wednesday's move for Rohl, club captain Barry Bannan told talkSPORT's Sports Breakfast show: "When you start getting linked with the job, as players you start to have a look at who you might be working with.
“We saw his CV and working with Hansi Flick and being at the Red Bull group and so he obviously had a good CV so we were excited before he came in and then he had the respect of the players as well, which is important for a manager.”
Since coming in, Rohl has led Sheffield Wednesday in 33 Championship matches, winning 13 and drawing five to give them 44 points in his time in charge.
Rooted to the bottom of the table when he came in, the Owls now sit one spot outside the relegation with two games remaining.
Their 3-1 win over Blackburn at the weekend meant this is the first time all season that they've been out of the drop zone, meaning their fate is in their own hands regarding a great escape - something Bannan says is largely down to Rohl's impact.
“He’s been brilliant," Bannan said. "What came across to the players when he joined was his confidence and belief in the group to get ourselves out of the situation that we found ourselves in.
“Sometimes managers come in and say things but you could see that he genuinely believed that he could help us to survive this season.
"Adding to that, tactically on the training pitch, the work that he’s put in and the way he studies other teams and their weaknesses has been brilliant for us. He’s helped us loads.
“The players have to take some credit, but a lot of it is down to the manager since he came in because he’s blown me away really.”
Earlier this month, Rohl was asked by The Star where avoiding relegation would stack up in his list of achievements in the game such as winning the Champions League, to which he replied: "It will be the biggest achievement for me, of course.
"It is my first manager's job and we would be the only team to stay up after we got our first win on the 14th matchday. Never before has that happened. This would be a huge achievement and I know when you look at the table and we are so close, maybe some people forget where we come from.
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“Until now we did well. Now we have to do it. I want to raise my arms with my players and we will celebrate together. But to stay up we have to do everything. It will be an amazing atmosphere when we do it and for me this is a push to invest again and again and again. We are not tired, we do it again.”
Next up for Sheffield Wednesday is a home clash with West Brom, before a final-day trip to face Sunderland in the hope of pulling off the biggest managerial accolade of Rohl's career so far.