Alexander Nouri once stood on the touchline in the Bundesliga, worked alongside some of football’s biggest coaching names and served as an assistant with the United States men’s national team.
Now, his working day involves running three McDonald’s restaurants in north-west Germany.
The former Werder Bremen and Hertha BSC coach walked away from professional football after his final coaching spell in Greece in 2022, eventually deciding that he wanted a different kind of life away from the constant demands and uncertainty of the football industry.
Nouri, who also worked with Jürgen Klinsmann at Hertha and Gregg Berhalter with the USMNT, has since established himself as a McDonald’s franchisee.
He now has around 150 employees working across the three businesses.
For a man who spent years chasing results on football pitches, the decision represents a dramatic change of direction.
Nouri said the decision was influenced heavily by his family after years of moving around and dealing with the uncertainty that comes with professional football.
“It didn’t feel right anymore,” he said of coaching football.
“And the job is so demanding that it needs 100 per cent of you. If you do it with 98 percent, it’s not right.”
Rather than returning to another club, Nouri decided to build something outside football.
The move required him to approach the fast-food business from the beginning, despite his previous experience as a professional coach and player.
He went through a year-long application and training process that included several interviews, practical preparation and assessments during which he was required to produce a business plan.
Yet Nouri has found that many of the leadership principles he learned in football remain useful in his new career.
His time working alongside Klinsmann and Berhalter, in particular, shaped the way he thinks about leadership, different perspectives and developing people.
“Gregg Berhalter is a good friend of mine, he taught me lessons that continue to shape my leadership today,” Nouri said.
He also believes managing restaurants is not as far removed from coaching as it might initially appear.
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Both require leadership, communication and an ability to understand the people working around you.
The difference is that Nouri now has a different definition of success.
“I’m very fulfilled in myself. I have a clear vision, to be able to work towards this vision with people you love, with your family; that’s something very special,” he said.
Nouri has not completely abandoned football.
He remains involved in youth sports development, giving him a connection to the game while allowing his professional life to move in an entirely different direction.
From Bundesliga dugouts to McDonald’s restaurants, Nouri’s career has taken an unusual turn, but for the former coach, the change appears to have delivered something professional football could no longer offer him.
Stability, family time and a sense of fulfilment.
