​Interview with Jonas Urbig in ’51’: ‘I hate losing’Just 19 months ago, Jonas Urbig was still playing in Bundesliga 2; today, he is regarded as a potential successor to Manuel Neuer. How did he manage that? His goalkeeping coaches explain – and Urbig explains why FC Bayern is the perfect fit for him.“It’s quite funny,” says Uwe Gospodarek. The former Bayern goalkeeper and goalkeeping coach to Jonas Urbig at 1. FC Köln has never forgotten a particular day in October 2024. At the time, Urbig was preparing for an international with the Germany Under-21s at Säbener Straße. And Gospodarek, who had stopped working in Cologne by that time and had moved back to Munich, arranged to meet him for a coffee at the FCB training ground. Gospodarek can still picture that reunion clearly: “Jonas said to me: ‘Uwe, I have a dream: I want to train here every day.’” Gospodarek pauses briefly and laughs. “It happened quicker than we thought it would.” Three months later, Urbig joined FC Bayern – and realised that reality is sometimes even better than you could ever have dreamt of.Jonas, when FC Bayern approached you, you were playing as a goalkeeper in Bundesliga 2 for 1. FC Köln. What drew you so strongly to Munich that you decided to take this big step? “I saw the move as the best opportunity to continue developing – with an excellent goalkeeping coach, a strong group of goalkeepers and a terrific team. That was a huge benefit for me. It wasn’t about which big names play here. For me, the key thing was to become part of this group, to develop and to help the team.”The first person you met in the dressing room after arriving at FC Bayern was Thomas Müller. What do you remember about that moment? “I was really nervous. And then Thomas just came up to me and said ‘Servus’ – in that really relaxed way you’d expect of him. That immediately took a lot of the pressure off me. Of course, I was a bit reserved at first, as you tend to be as a new player. But I have really fond memories of that first training session. It felt completely natural to be part of this group. The fact that I got my first few appearances so early on helped me to settle into the team even more.”How difficult was it for you to join another club after more than ten years in Cologne? “I’ll always have an emotional connection to FC Köln. I wish the club nothing but the best – unless, of course, they’re playing against us. At first, all I knew of FC Bayern was the façade. Once I got to know the club from the inside, I quickly realised how down-to-earth and open everyone is throughout the whole organisation. From the outside, this ‘Mia san mia’ often sounds like a cliché, but now I know: it’s genuinely lived out here. And that feels really good. That was certainly one of the reasons why I very quickly felt I was in the right place here.”Dieser Inhalt kann hier leider nicht dargestellt werden. Zum Anschauen kannst du die Website des FC Bayern Münche