Mike Tullberg didn’t make much of an impression in Edinburgh during his playing career.
But the former Hearts crock is back in the capital and has Hibs in his sights. The Dane, who was forced to retire aged 26 due to injuries, is in charge of the Borussia Dortmund Under 19 side who take on Steve Kean’s young Hibees in the UEFA Youth League at Easter Road this evening.
Tullberg arrived at Tynecastle on loan from Italian outfit Reggina back in 2008. He was handed the number nine shirt, but didn’t even manage that many appearances, turning out just seven times for the Jambos before heading to Germany with Rot-Weiss Oberhausen. However, he played just four times for them after being forced to hang up his boots in 2011 and embarked on his coaching career the following season, beginning as assistant coach with SC Shonebeck before a return to Oberhausen.
It’s fair to say that he’s faring better in the dugout than he did on the park. Spells back in Denmark coaching AGF’s Under 19s and No. 2 and Vendsyssel prompted Dortmund to take him into their coaching stable. BV initially had Tullberg in charge of their second team, but after impressing there, he was handed the more prestigious position task of developing their Under 19 stars for the first team. And he’s not doing a bad job, on the verge of the last 16 of the Youth League which will be secured with an aggregate victory over Hibs.
Dortmund legend Lars Ricken, who scored a delightful chip in their 1997 Champions League final triumph over Juventus, is the club’s head of youth development, and was impressed enough by Tullberg to hand him a contract extension last summer, saying: “Continuity in the head trainer positions in the youth sector is important for successful work. This contract extension is a great sign from Mike Tullberg.
“It shows how enthusiastic he is and how much he identifies with BVB in general and our youngsters in particular. Mike has proven that with his ambitious work he can develop both the team and each individual player individually. We look forward to continuing on this path together with him,”
Tullberg added: “I would like to thank those responsible for the great trust that I felt from day one. I really appreciate the fact that I was able to extend my contract by two years two years before it expired. For me there is no 'I', only a 'we'. This contract extension is an expression of the work of the entire coaching team. We feel very comfortable here in Dortmund. The club is very large and yet family. For me, this club has become a second family. “
READ NEXT:
