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In a big season for new Premier League managers, Matthias Jaissle is one of the freshest. Little is known about Newcastle’s latest head coach on our shores; the 39-year-old German’s appointment, replacing Eddie Howe, marks the first time he’s played or coached in England. He’s been off to a wobbly start, losing to Bristol City and Bayer Leverkusen in pre-season matches, but the first game of the season, against Liverpool, will be the true tone-setter. Given Jaissle has won the Asian Champions League twice with Saudi Abrabia’s Al-Ahli – owned, like Newcastle, by the country’s Public Investment Fund – and the Austrian Bundesliga twice with Red Bull Salzburg, he’s clearly not to be trifled with.
Another thing that might tell us a little bit about the Prem’s new gaffer on the block is his watch. During his first Newcastle games, Jaissle has been wearing a Rolex Daytona – which is not exactly a shock. Daytonas, being the sportiest model from such a classic brand, are go-tos for sports stars, especially in football. Ferran Torres, Graham Potter, Scott McTominay and Cole Palmer are fans, among many, many others. You can hardly move in top-fight changing rooms for these watches.
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Composite: GQ / Getty images, Rolex
But the models that these guys go for tend to be quite blingy – made of white gold and platinum, say. Jaissle’s is in low-key steel, by comparison; the watch of someone still young, and with work to do rather than a victory lap to run. Though it’s steel, it doesn’t have the usual “panda” or “reverse panda” colouring, with some combination of black and white on the dial and subdial. (A combo that would’ve neatly matched up with the Newcastle kit, as it happens.) Instead, it has a white dial and steel rings around the sundials, for a technical, unshowy look.
This is a Daytona made to be used rather than flexed – and given Matthias Jaissle’s penchant for intense, attacking football, he may well be using its chronograph function to time players’ sprints in training. The model, reference number 116520, was produced from 2000 to 2016, so Jaissle has either picked it up second-hand, or it’s been on his wrist for a good while. Either way, it’s clear that it’s been very well worn, and that Jaissle is not going too crazy on his watches quite yet. There’ll be plenty of time for that after he makes his mark on the Premier League.