Germany made good on their loss against Greece with a 0-0 in Athens last night and have some positives to take away from Jurgen Klopp’s first games as head coach of the DFB team until their next game against Serbia in November.

A new face in the coaching setup at the DFB is former Norwich City and Darmstadt defender Christoph Zimmermann, who is now the assistant manager of the Germany U16 team:

Zimbo, as the former defender, is known to friends and fans alike and took over the role from Shkodran Mustafi, who is now assistant manager of the Germany U21s. The former Norwich City Centre-back is assistant to former Karlsruher SC and Ulsan Hyundai manager Marc-Patrick Meister.

Zimmermann joined Borussia Dortmund II in 2014 from Borussia Mönchengladbach. He made his professional debut in the 3. Liga on 26 July 2014 against Rot-Weiß Erfurt and played 85 matches. He even captained the team in his final season with the club.

Zimmerman played for English club Norwich City when his contract expired at Borussia Dortmund II. He helped the Canaries lift the Championship title and seal a return to the Premier League less than two years later. Zimmerman and Norwich City were promoted again in 2021, under now Leeds United manager Daniel Farke.

In 2022, Zimmerman transferred to Darmstadt 98, with which he won promotion to the Bundesliga in 22/23. Following ongoing challenges with injuries, the 1.93m defender retired from his active career at the end of the 24/25 season.

After retiring, the Dusseldorf-born football manager joined the coaching team of the U15S at the DFB as defensive coach in the team of head coach Andre Pawlak.

In this interview, he speaks about his new role, his time at Borussia Dortmund, what he loves about Norwich, top players he played against, Darmstadt 98, and Germany’s youth set-up. He also touches on his time with Darmstadt, quitting football, former colleague Cristos Tzolis at Arsenal, and the challenges the Canaries are currently experiencing in the Championship.