Former Chelsea analyst Benjamin Weber appointed sporting director at SC Paderborn

Benjamin Weber would describe himself as the “guy in the background, the person you don’t see on the television”, the fourth member of the fearsome foursome with Thomas Tuchel, Arno Michels, and Zsolt Lőw. His official title was Videoanalyst, just as it was at PSG, but he did whatever work was necessary, be that analysis, scouting, or communications.

“As long as I’m wanted in that team [Thomas, Arno, Zsolt] and have an important job to play, I wouldn’t change my role. I think I’ve played a big part in our success as a team with my role and I’m happy with that, I don’t need to be the next Thomas Tuchel or the next sporting director or anything like that. Things work really well as they are and I’m happy to be contributing at a club like Chelsea.”

-Benjamin Weber; July 2022

Football is a funny business though, ain’t it, Benni?

Weber was dismissed by the club in September alongside the other three, but he’s now in fact become a next sporting director — just not at Chelsea, but rather at SC Paderborn, currently seventh in the second division in Germany.

The 39-year-old got his start as an analyst and scout at Mainz under Jürgen Klopp in 2006 and stayed when Tuchel took over a couple years later. They had worked together from then on, until now.

While the other three from the crew remain unemployed, Weber’s striking out on his own. As sporting director, he will be expected to “stabilize” the club (Paderborn have yo-yoed between the top three divisions over the past decade) and help “optimize” their youth system as well. His first official day will be January 6.

(Weber replaces Fabian Wohlgemuth, who left to join VfB Stuttgart after Sven Mislintat’s departure there. Mislintat’s been heavily linked with a job at Liverpool.)

Good luck, Benni!