“We Enjoyed It While It Lasted”: Andreas Beck on Rangnick’s Influence, Playing in Belgium, and More

Andreas Beck of Germany looks on during training session at Sportzone Rungg on June 01, 2010 (Photo by Joern Pollex/Bongarts/Getty Images)

Andreas Beck was 20 years old when he helped Stuttgart win their first Bundesliga title since 1992. He was 22 when he played a crucial role in Germany’s victory in the U-21 Euros. He was 29 when he steered Beşiktaş to the apex of Turkish football. And at 30, he decided to return to his boyhood club, joining Stuttgart on August 31, 2017, for a fee of €2.5 million.

“It was a full-circle moment,” stated Beck in an exclusive RG interview (read first part of the interview here). “I grew up in Stuttgart and became a professional there but never made it as a starter. Coming back and becoming a starter who was more mature. I knew that if this offer came, I couldn’t say no. It’s not often that you see a player go from the Süper Lig to the Bundesliga. We struggled, and those two years were hard, but I’m grateful for that experience.”

Stuttgart were coming off a season that saw them win the 2. Bundesliga title, but they managed to surpass expectations by finishing seventh in the Bundesliga. Beck quickly established himself as a vital cog on the right side of defense, making 25 appearances across the campaign. However, his progress ground to a halt on April 14, 2018, when he suffered a partial rupture to the frontal cruciate ligament of his right knee. For a player who was on the wrong side of 30, who had one year remaining on his contract, and who had depended on his relentless stamina and pace throughout his entire career, it seemed to be a death knell.

He knew that if he underwent surgery, Stuttgart would head to the transfer market and buy a player who would effectively force Beck out of the team. Instead of getting an operation, Beck decided to spend the summer working with a physiotherapist in Croatia in order to reduce the swelling and rebuild the muscle. By the time preseason started, he was back training with the first-team, with Kinesio tape wrapped around his knee and helping to hold the muscles together. Despite not having an ACL in his right knee, and despite facing competition from Pabo Maffeo, who had arrived from Manchester City for €9 million, Beck made a seamless return and registered 24 appearances for Die Schwaben as they narrowly escaped relegation. In 2019, Beck made the move to the Belgian top-flight, joining K.A.S. Eupen.

“I never thought I’d land in Belgium. My brother called me and said, ‘There’s a club in Belgium that wants to sign you,’ and I thought it might be Anderlecht or Antwerp, he said it was Eupen, which I’d never heard of,” said Beck.

“It was a very serious club, and they wanted an experienced veteran like me to hold the group together. I felt like I needed to go into the wild again and leave Swabia, and it was the right decision. Playing in the Belgian top-flight was very demanding, every team has top talents, and you’re fighting to survive in the league every day. These clubs buy low, sell high, and give raw talents the opportunity to play. Playing as an older wing-back against guys like Jérémy Doku was very fun.”

He aged like fine wine in Belgium, making 83 appearances across a three-year spell before hanging up his boots in 2022. Today, he lives in East Belgium and he spends his time raising four young children with his wife whilst pursuing a UEFA MIP, a master program for former international players. Beck is writing a thesis on multi-club ownership and travelling all across Europe to meet with important stakeholders and collect information, and in May, he will present his dissertation in Bilbao. 

Beck spoke about various topics in an exclusive RG interview.

How important was Stuttgart’s academy in your footballing development?

“The academy is very famous and has produced a lot of national team players like Serge Gnabry, Joshua Kimmich, Christian Gentner, Mario Gómez, and Kevin Kurányi. The pathway that Stuttgart provided for its top talents was there. Not only did you have to be good, not only did you have to be lucky, but the doors also had to be open, and during that time, all of this meshed. It was a top team that played in the UEFA Champions League, and I’m so glad to have been on the team during this time.”

How would you describe yourself as a player, and what were your main attributes?

“I could not describe myself as one type of player because I changed a lot during my career. I was very light and durable. I changed my game when I went to Beşiktaş at 28, which was a different style of play; I crossed a lot, I sprinted up and down the flank, I was very reliable. Whether it was a Champions League match or a training game, you could count on me to deliver a 7/10 or an 8/10. You knew what you were going to get. Later in my career, I got more experience and became heavier, smarter and more mature. I saw the game differently, and was able to change to a more possession-heavy style in Istanbul and win two titles. I was never the guy who dribbled a lot, but I could run a lot, be very tactical and flexible, and could also lead the defense and midfielders. And I loved to play with someone in front of me like Ricardo Quaresma and Carlos Eduardo. I wasn’t like a wing-back who played alone on the flank, I needed someone to play with.”

Hoffenheim enjoyed a stellar start to the 2008/09 season and entered the winter break in first place, only to finish seventh. Do you lament not being able to win the title?

“No. It was a wild and intense journey, and we probably overperformed in many games, but in order to deliver that level of performance over a full season, you need the capacity and squad depth, and we didn’t have that. Our best striker – Vedad Ibišević – got a season-ending injury during the winter break after scoring 18 goals in 17 games. There were some of our best players who got red cards or got injured and were out for a period of time, and then the pressure comes from Bayern Munich. It was a wild ride, and we enjoyed it while it lasted, but we didn’t have this capacity to handle it.”

What was it like working under one of the most influential managers in German football history in Ralf Rangnick?

“He was very crucial for my development. He saw something in me and made a different player out of me during that time. When I came to Hoffenheim, I had left a team that won the championship just two years earlier, I thought there’s nothing much higher in German football than this period at Stuttgart. I remember going to my first training session and seeing guys like Chinedu Obasi, Demba Ba, Luiz Gustavo, Carlos Eduardo, and I asked myself, ‘What is happening here?’ It was such a different kind of football with an intensity. The types of games we played, the coaching, it was so stressful that I knew I had to adapt my game and adapt as a person.

Do you feel unlucky to have only played nine times for the German senior team?

“There could always be more, but if you told me before I made my debut that I’d play 543 club matches in three different countries, win three league titles and play in the Champions League and Europa League, I’d say it’s a dream career. My goal was always to look back at my career and say it was a wonderful journey, with all the ups and downs, and it was. Could I have played more for Germany? Of course, but I’m also realistic – there was Philipp Lahm ahead of me, who was so consistent – and even playing these nine matches in 2009 and 2010 was a huge achievement. Whenever Lahm was tired or injured, I’d play, but in order to have had a better international career, I would’ve needed to leave for Juventus or Newcastle when I was 23-24 and make the next step. But in the end, spending seven years at Hoffenheim and five as a captain was also a huge success for myself.”

How close were you to leaving for Juventus in 2010?

“It was very close, there was a €10m offer on the table, but it was a winter transfer and Juve was also very unstable at that time. Hoffenheim’s owner said no way, so my only option would be to say, ‘Let me go,’ but that’s not my nature. Juve changed their coach and sporting director and decided to get Stephan Lichtsteiner, and the opportunity was now gone. It was not like my decision to say yes or no, the pieces have to fall together. I stayed in Hoffenheim and fought relegation the next season whilst Juve won nine titles in a row.”

What was it like getting the captain’s armband, losing it, and getting it back again at Hoffenheim?

“I became captain after Per Nilsson left, and it was a decision between Josip Šimunić and me. There was always an annual vote to select who would be the 5-6 players to have the responsibility of negotiating extra bonuses and stepping in whenever the captain got injured. I was already in this pool and then became captain. We struggled to stay up and then there were a lot of changes in the 2012 summer window with a new coach and new players, and there was a euphoria that we need to attack the season. I said, ‘In order to have a fresh new start, let’s decide as a team who should be the captain.’ Six months later, the euphoria was gone, we were fighting relegation, a new coach came, and the team said, ‘Andy, it’s better if you take over as captain again.’

Who is the toughest opponent you’ve faced in your career?

“If I had to name one player, it’s Franck Ribéry. I played against him many times vs. Bayern Munich…he was outstanding, but the problem was, he had someone like David Alaba or Philip Lahm behind him, and they’d double up against you in your defensive third, they’d overlap and combine and dominate you. You don’t just to have defend against Ribéry or Arjen Robben, but also the guy in behind.”

How different is Germany’s football fan culture from Turkey’s?

“Germany has a well-balanced culture where the fans support you and grow with you, have a full 360-degree culture, and you generate your value through this football experience. Turkey is different, it’s more tough love, it’s more demanding, it’s not as family-friendly and is sometimes dangerous. There’s that mentality to be more passionate. You also receive more love, but at the same time, more hate if you don’t perform or lose. Germany is more well-rounded, whilst Turkey lives more on the extremes. I’m so happy I went there when I was 28, because experiencing these extremes isn’t as enjoyable when you’re a youngster. Turkey and Germany have the two most intense fan cultures, and when I went to Belgium, it was more calm and focused on football, less media and fans, which I enjoyed at that point in my career.”

You played alongside Emanmuel Agbadou at Eupen. Three years later, he’s playing for Premier League side Wolves. Could you tell he was going to be special?

“Agbadou is the kind of player who came to the Belgian league as a raw talent. If he came to the Bundesliga at that age, he wouldn’t make it because you have to be more structured. You could see that he had so much quality and talent, but he wasn’t as technically and tactically skilled as he is today. He needed to go to an intermediate league like Belgium in order to compete, to adjust to the cold winters, and to be molded by the pressure. Similarly to my former Hoffenheim teammate Roberto Firmino, he needed this first year for his talents to shine through, to play up to his strengths and reduce these mistakes. After 1-2 years, I was saying that Agbadou has to go to the Bundesliga. He then went to a stepping-stone club in France, and now he’s in the best league in the world.”

Your boyhood club Stuttgart have enjoyed a renaissance under Sebastian Hoeneß. How highly do you rate Hoeneß?

“A lot of what’s happened there in the past two years is because of him. They struggled with the previous coach, but with his calmness and footballing vision, he’s been able to shape his team. The environment in Stuttgart is a tough one, but he managed it very well, and I think last summer, he could’ve chosen whatever club he wanted. Maybe he’ll stay another year, but I think a lot of their success is based on him.”

One player who has proven vital in Stuttgart’s midfield is Angelo Stiller. How special of a talent is he?

“I loved to play with players like him, who had the ball glued to their feet and always found solutions. They’re undervalued players who might not stand out or seem too slow, but those are the gems you have to pick. Hoeneß worked with him at Bayern’s reserves and Hoffenheim, and when everyone was asking ‘Why are you buying him,’ he said, ‘That’s my player, I need him, I know what I’m going to get from him. They made an amazing choice getting him.”

Lastly, what is your proudest achievement as a footballer?

“To be a professional for almost 20 years, to be on that level and resonate with every player, this makes me proud. I know what this life demands from you with the press and competing everyday, so having a long career with few injuries makes me very happy to be so resistant to this kind of environment. One of my proudest achievements is going to Turkey in my prime and delivering there, going to Istanbul at 28, and winning two titles with Beşiktas. It was a big risk, but we pulled it off and it was an amazing time.”