A sliding tackle, a scream, a face contorted in pain; Mandana Scharei is ready to jump up and rush onto the pitch. She has the impulse to help immediately. But she has to wait. Only when the TSG player can’t get to his feet on his own and she is asked to act is Scharei allowed to step onto the pitch together with the team doctor. Receive the all-clear, sprint onto the pitch, provide first aid: this has long been part of everyday life for the 46-year-old, even if she is used to faster procedures from her previous work. “I used to work in rugby, where the physiotherapists run along the sidelines and are allowed straight onto the pitch if something happens.” But the important thing in both sports is to “look closely at the situation. Of course, if something happens, I want to have seen it live so that I can assess whether it’s serious or just a minor injury.” Scharei has developed a good eye for this – not only for injuries in matches, but also on the training pitch.
The job at TSG Hoffenheim involves a lot of planning as well as physical labour for Scharei. In addition to applying bandages and tapes, her daily programme includes massages and preventative treatments. But she struggles to imagine a professional life outside the industry. “I feel at home in sport because I also see my work, i.e. the therapeutic aspect, in sporting terms. I just like to work actively.” Scharei’s career in team sports began in the men’s national rugby league with Heidelberger RK and the national rugby team. She came to football through a tip. “A colleague told me that there was a vacancy at TSG’s rehabilitation centre. A year-and-a-half later, I moved up to the professional team,” explains Scharei. She has been a permanent member of the Hoffenheim team of five physiotherapists since July 2021.
Asserting herself as a woman in the male-dominated world of football was never an issue for the open-minded physiotherapist: “It’s not a problem at all. I get on very well with the players, they accept me too. It’s mainly about being a good professional and not about whether I’m a woman or a man,” says Scharei. But for TSG Hoffenheim, working with women is a matter of course. In keeping with tradition, Mandana Scharei is continuing the work that Karolin Kieffer once successfully began with the first team and U23s at TSG Hoffenheim around ten years ago.
The 46-year-old’s day-to-day work is varied. Of course, the focus is on the players’ injuries and ailments. “In football, it’s mainly about the lower extremities, i.e. foot contusions, trauma to the foot from twisting an ankle, knee pain, but above all muscular problems,” says Scharei. But the personal relationship with the footballers also plays a major role. “That’s always the case in physiotherapy. You talk a lot about other things. I think a lot of our work is psychological and not just physiological. It’s important to provide the players with positive support.” The relationship of trust between therapist and player is particularly important in the case of serious and protracted injuries such as a cruciate ligament rupture or complicated illnesses such as pubic bone problems. “It’s all about experience and planning. Healing processes always run in waves, that’s normal.” Thanks to her professional experience, she can advise the players and provide them with mental support.
Scharei has built up a great deal of trust with all TSG Hoffenheim players, and she often works together with Oliver Baumann. “We get on well. There is a mutual understanding.” They also talk shop about football on the couch from time to time. Of course, it’s an advantage that Scharei herself is very enthusiastic about sport, and not just men’s sport. “I’m interested in all sports. What I love about women’s football is that it has developed so positively and is so successful. I also treated a lot of TSG Hoffenheim women in rehab back then and I’m still impressed by how committed and ambitious they are. In general, I could definitely imagine working in women’s football, but that’s not on the table for me due to my current job.” However, the physiotherapist doesn’t want to say which she prefers. “I find both the men and the women very ambitious and focused. It’s impressive,” she summarises.
Mandana Scharei is a strong woman who has managed to establish herself at TSG Hoffenheim. “The fact that I’ve been given the opportunity to join the professional squad is a vote of confidence and appreciation of my work. The conditions here in Zuzenhausen are great. So you can’t really have it any better.” At least not at the moment, because she doesn’t see herself on the sidelines in ten years’ time: “I’m already approaching the end of my career. Even though I might not be working with a team as actively as I do today, I hope that I can continue to look after and treat athletes,” she says with a smile on her lips.
Of course, Scharei will be there again on TSG’s next matchday. She will be watching every step and every tackle her players make with watchful eyes. She’s not worried about the game being too physical: “I like it more when the challenges are intense and you can see that both teams are up for it.” And alongside the physiotherapist Mrs Scharei, the TSG supporter Mandana also comes through in her: “Of course I want my team to win.” Preferably without any injuries.
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