How to find the right Head Coach on TransferRoom

Samsunspor were promoted to the Turkish Süper Lig in 2022/23 and only finished three points above the relegation zone in 2023/24. 

Now, they are third in the table and chasing European qualification at the halfway point of the season, and much of that has been down to Head Coach Thomas Reis, who arrived in the summer.

Reis’s appointment was made possible by identifying the suitability of the former FC Schalke 04 and VfL Bochum Head Coach on TransferRoom’s CoachFinder.

Launched in 2023, CoachFinder is a unique tool that gives club decision-makers access to a global database of over 5,000 Head Coach profiles.

The tool allows clubs to use the same modern approach to recruit managers as TransferRoom has given them to find players from every corner of the world since launching its revolutionary online marketplace in 2017.

CoachFinder provides clubs with the platform to quickly identify all relevant candidates, expand their global talent pool and make smart, data-driven decisions in the high-pressure situation of appointing a new Head Coach.

It also helps clubs avoid costly mistakes, in a modern game where Head Coaches last an average of eight months, and the average contract length is 30 months.

TransferRoom’s CoachFinder is exactly what Samsunspor’s Director of Football, Fuat Capa, used to find a successor for the departing Head Coach Markus Gisdol. Gisdol had overseen a recovery from one point in the first seven matches to stay up, and they used CoachFinder to find a coach who would fit the existing squad and style of play.

Speaking at November 2024’s TransferRoom Summit in Istanbul, Capa said: “It was really a surprise also, because we gave the name from Marcus Gisdol on CoachFinder and we had the how we play, where we are going to press, how we are going to build up, how we will make the transition, how we are going to make the set-pieces.

“And then, yeah, we had the help from TransferRoom and then we got some names who had the same philosophy in how they play. We had Thomas Reis and some other names.

“Then, after some individual meetings, we made the decision to Thomas Reis. I think we made a good decision and I will thank you, especially, that we had the opportunity to use TransferRoom.”

Capa and Samsunspor plan for Reis to be in charge for many years, but they now also have TransferRoom and CoachFinder to lean on for all-important succession planning.

Our data shows that Head Coaches last an average of eight months, whether that’s through being dismissed, leaving the club or being recruited by another team due to high performance.

Capa and Samsunspor have a ready-made shortlist of successors on CoachFinder, to be prepared just in case Reis decides to leave or is recruited by another club.

“Yeah [we plan to use TransferRoom’s CoachFinder] in the long term, because we now have a plan on how we will play after three years,” Capa added. “If you make a strategy, you need steps. You cannot do it from Day one to Day 2. You can give so many things to your coach that you say, ‘OK, that's the way we're going to play.’

“But in the meantime, you also get some other names. If something happens tomorrow, if Thomas Reis decides at the end of the season to leave, we now have three or four names. that we are following. We now have the time to follow him on training, on the interviews that he makes, the games.

“You win so much time. Otherwise you have to decide in a short time, and most of all you make mistakes.”

Learn more about CoachFinder

Clubs decision-makers: quickly identify the most relevant candidates, gain access to in-depth data on 5,000+ Head Coaches worldwide and avoid costly mistakes through TransferRoom’s CoachFinder. Find out how to access CoachFinder here.

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