Secret ruler of the soccer pitch

Why is Felix Brych showing a video of this scene at the latest event in the "Learning from Legends" series at the TUM Campus Heilbronn? To show that technical progress in soccer can be a blessing for referees. But also to demonstrate that artificial intelligence cannot replace human referees for the time being: "AI can decide whether the ball was inside or outside the penalty area, but it can’t assess whether Reus would still have got the ball."

Courageous and decisive

Of course, Brych also wants to emphasize to the large audience in the lecture hall that referees often have to act under enormous pressure and in a short space of time. "If you want to make a decision, you have to be brave," says the doctor of law when asked by moderator Markus Hermsen-Huyke about the most important lessons he has learned from his experience as a referee. He cites courage as a basic requirement and adds: "Focus and professional preparation for a particular game or event are crucial. As a leader, you always have to know where you stand."

Brych knows what he is talking about, as the Munich native has set a record of 344 Bundesliga appearances and played in 69 Champions League matches. His career highlight was supposed to be the 2018 World Cup, for which FIFA had nominated him. However, the tournament turned out to be a huge disappointment: after just one game, in which he made several mistakes, he was sent home. "It took me a year to recover," recalls Brych. But he learned an important lesson from this bitter experience: "Accept your mistakes and fight back." There was a happy ending after all: the now 48-year-oldmade it to the 2021 European Championship and was in charge of five matches. At the end of the year, he was named world referee – for the second time in his career.

Learned a lot from setbacks

The road to the top was never a self-runner, Brychexplains: "You’re not born into this game. But if you never leave your comfort zone, you won’t get anywhere." He has built his career step by step – with a clear focus and a high level of professionalism. He has often learned more from setbacks than from successes and has always remained convinced: "After the valley, the next mountain is even higher than the one before."

With his optimistic statements and authentic demeanor, Brych is well received by the students. During a previous podcast recording and in the final Q&A session, they really grilled him. "Confident body language is crucial. The players have to feel that the referee is strong," he says when asked about communication on the pitch. Sometimes Brych remains diplomatic: he doesn’t want to predict who will win the European Championship this year, even if he would like to see Germany at least in the semi-finals.

That leaves the question of his plans after his active career, posed by host Daniel Gottschald, Managing Director of TUM Campus Heilbronn gGmbH. Brych has clear ideas here: "When I finish my career in two to three years, I would like to pass on the knowledge I have gained over the years to young people. I would like to expand my activities as a speaker in companies. And I would like to get involved in training young referees."

The "Learning from Legends" series at TUM Campus Heilbronn will continue on November 4, 2024 with star chef Norbert Niederkofler.