Constant learning & role model Kompany: Clara Schöne's path to Pro Licence

As so often, she is up very early this Friday at the training ground. Preparations for the next session of the new week. It's a familiar sight at the FC Bayern Campus. Clara Schöne, assistant coach of the FC Bayern women’s team, started her Pro Licence this month, with the same determination, curiosity and attitude that took her from her school days and her first coaching certificates to the sidelines. Her course thrives on variety and trust, her everyday life on structure and a keen eye for detail. She’s honed her skills alongside head coach José Barcala. Between video analysis and dressing room questions, between defensive blocks and travel plans, Schöne shows how modern training work is evolving: open in discourse, united as a team. A conversation about rhythm, ambition, constant learning, role model Vincent Kompany and hidden coaching talent in the Munich squad. 

Interview with Clara Schöne 

Clara, the decision to become a coach – was it one moment, one person or more of a gentle glide?
Clara Schöne: “I obtained my first coaching certificates while still at school – I attended a specialist football school. Instead of going on school trips, I went to get my licence. My course leader at the time was Fritzi Kromp, who is now a coach in Bremen. At the end of the course, she said to me: ‘You're really good at this, it would suit you.’ That was my first lightbulb moment. Later, I had to end my playing career a little earlier than planned due to injuries. It quickly became clear to me that I love team sports, the daily interaction, solving problems together. I had to stay in football. And of course, I love being on the pitch. Through Jay [Bianca Rech], I came into contact with Bayern, and shortly afterwards I became assistant coach of the second team under Nathalie Bischof. I said to myself: I'll give it a try, and if it's not right for me, I'll look for something else. At the same time, I studied sports science and did my bachelor's degree.”

You started the Pro Licence course on 20 January, two years after successfully completing your A Licence. Can you tell us a little about the group: what holds it together, what forms it?
“The course very clearly feeds off the people. We’re deliberately mixed: female and male coaches from the lower leagues, an assistant from the Bundesliga, Champions League assistant, head coach from the 3. Liga, a head coach from the Bundesliga – plus two women and colleagues from women’s football. The basic principle is: ‘open to the inside, closed to the outside’. Internally we create a space of trust, share things. The first block is about familiarisation: feedback in small groups, a little tournament in mixed teams in the evening – sometimes darts. Even the coffee breaks are designed so that everyone talks to each other. It’s been really great: lots of interesting characters, lots of curiosity, good attitude. That’s what the course thrives on.”

Why did you choose now for the Pro Licence – and not a year earlier or later, as day-to-day life sometimes dictates?
“The A Licence was an intense year, then as head coach of the reserves. After that I switched to the assistant role but in the first team: a new head coach, new job, lots of new input. I didn’t just want to ‘tick off’ the Pro Licence, but really take it all in. I had to feel ready for that. Almost exactly a year ago I felt that I was settling into a routine and wanted to see, hear and learn more. The trigger was a photo of last year’s Pro Licence cohort with Eva[-Maria Virsinger, head coach of Hoffenheim Women] and Sabrina [Wittmann, head coach of FC Ingolstadt’s men’s team]. I know both of them well, spoke to them and the message was clear: ‘Absolutely do it, it’s a great year.’”

You mentioned interesting characters – who are they and which topics come up? Any that are particularly focused on women’s football?
“I already knew Thomas Oostendorf [head coach of 1. FC Nürnberg Women] and Jacqueline Dünker [assistant coach 1. FC Köln Women]. Then there are Malik Fathi [assistant coach VfB Stuttgart], Cedrick Makiadi [head coach Werder Bremen U19s] and Daniel Bauer [head coach VfL Wolfsburg]. Essentially there are two kinds of questions. The first are very practical, because many things are simply not present in the men's sector. ‘Are you allowed in the changing room?’ How are responsibilities regulated? The second are the very technical ones: how do you structure video analyses? How do you integrate match plans and opponent analysis? How long do meetings last, how do you divide tasks within the coaching team? Even travel arrangements: do we fly, and if so, when? What does a travel day look like? Daniel Bauer was particularly positive: on paper he's at the top level as a Bundesliga coach, yet he's extremely curious, willing to learn and respectful. He wanted to understand exactly how we work. It's a very good exchange on equal terms.”

What exactly does a training course look like – for the Pro and A licences?
"It varies greatly. We plan training sessions, carry them out, film units and also record our discussions and video analyses. Then we reflect on everything together. One topic, for example, is ‘blocking behaviour’, i.e. blocking shots: we define principles and work out how to implement them on the pitch. To do this, we sit down with specialist coaches, such as the goalkeeping coach, to understand their perspective. External personalities also come along. But the course thrives above all on the group."

How does the course fit into your schedule – and how do you manage your commitments when the fixture list is packed?
"It’s monthly: arrive on the Sunday, finish on the Wednesday. Between blocks, there is homework with deadlines – lots of small tests and a big final assignment at the end. The main challenge is the amount of work, because the league schedule is tight and days off are rare. When you see six open tasks in the tool and there's a match the day after tomorrow, the pressure naturally increases a little. That's when structure helps: set fixed time slots, prioritise tasks, work with real concentration for an hour. Better to work briefly and intensively than long and distractedly. So far, the dates have been well chosen, mostly at the beginning of the week and often during or around international breaks and summer breaks. That makes it easier to combine with everyday club life."

There are shadowing placements as well – but where do you go when you already have a busy week?
“Internationally we look at other clubs. Last year, for example, the course spent three or four days at Brighton with Fabian Hürzeler. You run with them, see how training is planned and carried out, observe processes from the morning meeting to the follow-up, and get a feel for the rhythm, language and level of detail. I'm particularly interested in the national team area: completely different cycles, where you only see each other every three to five weeks, plan for the longer term, structure days differently, set priorities more compactly.”

Let's talk about your work at FC Bayern: along with Kjetil Lone, you are José Barcala's assistant coach. What do you learn from him – both in small and large ways?
"José is brilliant at individual tactics and technique, especially in the development of individual players. He recognises details that make a difference and translates them into clear training ideas. That sharpens my eye: where does individual coaching need to be applied before we make collective adjustments? At the same time, I find him very structured in his processes and communication. This helps me to set my content even more precisely and to make a player's development plannable rather than leaving it to chance. I am also impressed by his interaction with the staff, the players, indeed with the entire team. He is a people person who infects others with his positive attitude. I benefit enormously from him." 

Any external role models?
“Vincent Kompany: his calmness, composure, the way he protects the team – and at the same time the activeness on the pitch. People don’t always like to see head coaches join in with training drills, but Kompany shows how much that can bring. You perceive distances and dynamics differently on the field. As long as it makes sense in terms of quality, I’ll also get involved. Even though I’ve been retired for six, seven years and only play rarely now (laughs).”

Does your playing career help in your day-to-day work – you were more of a defensive player, right?
“I started in defence, played a lot as a defensive midfielder and then sometimes as a ten or on the wing. The change of perspective helps. Funnily enough, I currently have the attacking players in my training group, so not the defenders. I’m really enjoying it. There are players such as Pernille Harder who ask a lot of me, so I want to deliver and train myself up, even if I didn’t play in that position. At the end of the day, the football knowledge is the crucial thing, not where you played.”

Who out of the current squad could be in the dugout one day – and why?
“A lot of them. If I had to quickly name three, it’d be Glódís Viggósdóttir, Pernille Harder and Magdalena Eriksson. Tremendous understanding of the game combined with personality, leadership and charisma. We even joked: after Glódís’s speech at the World Sevens in Portugal, we took a photo and said maybe this will be the FC Bayern coaching team in 2030 (laughs).”

Thanks a lot for your time, Clara. And we wish you continued success with your Licence.
“Thank you.”

🏟️💫 FC Bayern Women play their Champions League quarter-final at the Allianz Arena: 

❌ FC Bayern Women’s match at FC Carl Zeiss Jena has been postponed: