"For sure," Benjamin Weber jokes when asked about Chelsea winning the Champions League in 2021. "I told Mason to turn and to play the pass." He is talking about Mason Mount’s ball for Kai Havertz to score the only goal of the final against Manchester City. Weber worked as an analyst for Thomas Tuchel at Mainz, Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea.
He describes that period at Stamford Bridge as the best of his life. "To win that title was absolutely amazing. I don't want to make my part too small, nor too big." Most would have stayed, gone on with Tuchel to Bayern Munich and beyond.
Weber, now 43, embarked on a different path. "When you are fighting for the Champions League and finally you win it, what else is there to come? You always need an objective." As a result, Weber left to become managing director of Paderborn.
It was tough." And in 2025 he took on a new role as sporting director of Bundesliga club Augsburg. "I don't work just to work. I was curious enough to do something different." Augsburg are a relatively modest outfit compared to some of Weber's previous employers but they are a major success story in Germany.
Their stay in the Bundesliga now extends to 16 consecutive seasons. "And there are only five other teams who can say that." But last season, Weber's first, was a particular triumph for Augsburg. It was their first top-half finish in a decade.
They managed it despite - or perhaps because - the decision was made to change coach midway through the campaign. It was a big call to make. "It was very difficult," Weber acknowledges.
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