Interview with Diego Contento: ‘I still get goosebumps’

At 34 years old, Diego Contento’s association with Bayern began when he was just four and includes the 2013 treble. Now the Munich-born German-Italian has started his second career at the club and is always there when he’s needed.

Interview with Diego Contento

Diego, you retired from playing a year and a half ago. What role does football still play in your life today?
“I will never stop playing football. I still play for FC Aschheim in the district league, with my brothers, as a hobby. And I've now got my first coaching licence, the B licence. It was always clear to me that I would want to have something to do with football after my professional career. You simply can't do without the ball, whether on or off the pitch. That will never change.”

After more than 10 years playing professionally, how do you feel as a coach?
“It was strange and unfamiliar at first. As a player, you don't realise how much work and responsibility a coach has. With 25 players in the squad, you have to communicate a lot. But I’ve enjoyed it, I like dealing with people and passing on things to young players in particular. Next, I'd like to tackle the A licence.”

Thomas Müller is nine months older than you and is still playing with the first team.
“I'm very happy for Thomas that he's still in top shape. He likes to say himself that he's all bone, not muscle [laughs]. That's why he's never injured. I could’ve played for another two or three years. I ended up training with the Bayern reserves for six months in the hope that I could continue my career somewhere. But then I got a call from Giovane Élber. He asked if I would like to play with the Bayern Legends against 1860. That was two years ago, for the 50th anniversary of the Olympic Stadium. One game turned into two, three and so on.”

A smooth transition from player to Legend.
“It definitely made it much easier for me to draw a line under my career.”

You’ve started a second career at FC Bayern. What do you do today?
“A few things. I'm no longer just involved with the Legends as a player. I just took part in the Audi Summer Tour in South Korea as a representative, and I'm also constantly travelling for the Youth Cup. I'm also involved in scouting for the Campus, which I really enjoy because I come from the Bayern youth programme myself. And in the summer, I was assistant coach to Roy Makaay in the FC Bayern World Squad. That was a great experience. Boys from 14 nations, from South America, Africa, Australia… It was a challenge to form a team from them within a month. It was great fun, for the boys as well as for us coaches.”

And you also played yourself...
“[laughs] At a tournament in the USA. The other teams were all adults, so I played with our boys. It was very hot that day, so I had to use all my experience [smiles].”

You even scored a goal with a back heel against Dortmund at that tournament. You never scored a goal for the Bayern senior team.
“Not a goal, but a few assists. That has to be enough. A coach once told me: ‘A defender has to keep a clean sheet at the back first, then he can go forward’. That's how I've always seen my job. We had top players like Mario Gómez and Mario Mandžukić to score goals.”

The players in the World Squad dream of playing professional football. What is important for you to pass on to them?
“I always tell them that discipline is the be-all and end-all. And you have to have respect for the coach, your teammates and your opponents. Criticism is also part of the business. You have to be able to deal with it. I learnt that from Hermann Gerland. You have to listen and trust the coach. He wants to help you.”

Your personal story could come straight out of Hollywood. It starts with your first names, Diego Armando, like Maradona. 
“My father comes from Naples. For him there was only ever football. My two older brothers also played for Bayern and became champions in the U19s and U17s teams. When they trained at Säbener Straße, I used to play on the tarmac next to the pitch with my dad. At some point, a coach came and offered me the chance to train with him. I was four and a half at the time and there wasn't even a team for me at Bayern yet. I was two years too young. So, I started training with the older players, Mats Hummels’ age group.”

You then went through the entire youth programme at Bayern. What was decisive for you actually making it as a professional in the end?
“Obviously you need talent, and you have to work very hard. But in the end, you also need a bit of luck. That's shown, for example, by the story of how I became a professional. In the winter of 2009/10, the reserves travelled to Turkey for a training camp, but I couldn't go because I couldn't get my visa. Then Hermann Gerland came and said: ‘Then why don't you go to Dubai with our first team?’ That was my chance, and you have to make the most of opportunities like that. A month and a half later, I came on as a substitute in the Champions League round of 16 against Fiorentina. Daniel Van Buyten had to come off injured at half-time, so Hermann Gerland said: ‘Diego, get ready’.”

That got your pulse racing, didn't it?
“Sure, 70,000 spectators at the Allianz Arena, that was new for me. But on the pitch, I didn't notice it at all. I was fully focussed on the game. I think that's a quality of mine. When I'm given a job, I fulfil it 100 percent. On the pitch, it didn't matter which position I was put in. In my youth, I was a left winger for a long time, until I joined the U17s. Stephan Beckenbauer was my coach then, and he said to me: ‘They need a left-back for the senior team, and I think you can do that’. He saw a prospect for me - and that's exactly what happened. When I think about it, I still get goosebumps.”

“It was the best game of my career. And at the same time the worst nightmare.”

Was the 2012 Finale dahoam your greatest game?
“It was the best game of my career. And at the same time the worst nightmare.”

What images go through your mind?
“Didier Drogba's header, the fans… To be able to play a Champions League final in your own stadium, that's as good as it gets. The whole of Munich was in a state of emergency. Unfortunately, we didn't bring the trophy home, even though we actually already had it in our hands.”

You played 120 minutes…
“And in the penalty shootout I would've been the next taker after Basti Schweinsteiger. Unfortunately, I didn't have to shoot.”

Bastian Schweinsteiger recently said that there's still a little wound in his heart because of 2012. How do you feel about that?
“I never watched the game again after that. I only saw the highlights recently for the documentary ‘Generation Wembley’. It hurt so much. That game will always stick with us, like a tattoo on our skin.”

There’s another possible Finale dahoam next year.
“Of course, it would be nice if Bayern could make it to the final again. The chance is there, but it's a long, hard road.”

After 19 years at Bayern, you moved to Bordeaux in 2014. How difficult was that step for you?
“It wasn't that difficult. At the time, Willy Sagnol was the coach at Bordeaux, and I was able to speak German with him, which was important at the beginning. But then I quickly learnt French, which is very similar to Italian anyway. All in all, it was a great four years. Bordeaux is also a beautiful city. We also felt very much at home there as a family.”

What did those four years do to you?
“I became a man, much more independent. It was also a great experience as a family. We had just had our first child at the time, and the three of us had a very intense time together. Bordeaux is a bit far away from Munich, so we didn't have visitors that often. But we had each other.”

Your parents are from Italy. Why have you never actually played there?
“After 2012, it felt like I had enquiries from every club in Italy. But Bayern is my favourite club. And I'm a loyal guy.”

When you look back on your career, would you do it all the same again?
“I was at great clubs, in great cities. Only my cruciate ligament rupture was stupid. After four years at Bordeaux, I wanted to make another start in the Bundesliga and moved to Düsseldorf. The club had just been promoted. After six weeks, I tore my cruciate ligament. After that, it took me a year and a half to get fit again. And then came the pandemic, lockdown. That didn't make it any easier to find a new club.”

How does it feel for you now to be travelling regularly to Säbener Straße again?
“It's different to before. If only because there weren't as many buildings and as many employees back then as there are today. But the artificial pitch, where I played for 15 years, is still there. It's a nice feeling to come home. FC Bayern is my home.”

© Photos: Maria Irl

This interview appeared in the latest issue of members’ magazine ‘51’