Laura Vetterlein has certainly been busy since leaving West Ham United in the summer of 2021.
The defender played in Claret and Blue for two seasons, making 30 appearances for the Club under former managers Matt Beard and Olli Harder after joining in 2019.
The German was a popular member of the squad at Chadwell Heath and with the fans at Rush Green Stadium and has incredibly fond memories of her time in east London.
After leaving the Hammers, Vetterlein made the move to FC Zürich Frauen in the Swiss Women’s Super League, where she would play for two seasons, helping the team to silverware before retiring from football and moving into coaching at the age of 31 a year ago.
It was with FCZ that the former West Ham No26 played alongside Seraina Piubel, who has recently made the move to east London ahead of the 2024/25 Barclays Women’s Super League season. The pair were teammates for two seasons, and in that time, Vetterlein saw Piubel's influence both at Club and international level grow.
Indeed, Vetterlein herself had known since early on in her career that she had wanted to stay in football and give back to the next generation of players coming through. During her time in east London, she completed her UEFA 'A' coaching badges with the English FA, working alongside West Ham favourites Carlton Cole and Zavon Hines on the course.
Since retiring, Vetterlein has worked as assistant coach at VfL Wolfsburg Women in Germany for the 2023/24 season, before moving back to Switzerland to take up a similar position at FC Basel.
Speaking exclusively to whufc.com, Vetterlein gives an insight into what West Ham fans can expect to see from Piubel, as well as reflecting on her own time with the Club and her coaching ambitions…
Laura, how have you been? What have you been up to since leaving West Ham?
“Since I left West Ham, I played in Switzerland for FC Zürich, which is where I played with Seraina, and we had quite a successful time there. We qualified for the Champions League group stages, which was a big experience for the whole club, and we also won the league title and the league cup.
“I had a very nice and enjoyable time at FC Zürich, but also for me, it was the time to shift from my playing career into my coaching career. I did my 'A' license coaching course in England with the FA, so it was always the plan that once the time comes where I am not the youngest anymore to compete on the pitch, then I want to switch roles and start my coaching career. So that's what I did after the 2022/23 season, I stopped playing, and then I started my coaching journey. I'm an assistant now at FC Basel, which is actually quite cool, because the head coach, Kim Kulig, is a very good friend of mine. She used to play with my sister in the Bundesliga and so we’ve known each other for a long time.
“It's kind of a full circle moment that we're coaching together in the same team and I’m enjoying it a lot. Now that I’m in a coaching role, I’m thinking about getting my Pro License one day and a goal of mine is to do it in England because I really enjoyed the way they taught us and would love to do it again.”
What were your initial impressions of Seraina when you first saw her in action at FC Zürich?
“I didn’t know of her before I joined Zürich, but she was definitely one of the players who stood out from the beginning with her pace, which was one of her biggest strengths, and her versatility on the offence.
“From the beginning, I knew that she could make the difference, and she would make a big impact, not only in the league, but because she was still very young, I was expecting that the Swiss league would just be the start of her career, and that she would make it to a bigger league. And that's why I'm really happy for her, that she can make that step now to the WSL.”
Having played in the WSL yourself, do you think that Seraina will adapt to the league well and has the qualities required to play at this level?
“Yeah, I think so. Knowing West Ham and the family vibe that you get there, I think adapting to a new culture will be quite easy for her and she will enjoy it there, that's for sure. In terms of the league, I think the style of play suits her well, in my opinion, due to her pace and her physicality. I think she will adapt quickly.
“Of course, things always take some time in the beginning, because everything is a bit faster in the WSL than in the Swiss League, but her experience with the national team and playing also at the World Cup and in an international environment will help her to adapt quickly.
“I remember the goal she scored against Arsenal at the Emirates [in the Champions League in October 2022], and in those moments, I could see in her that that was the level she wanted to be competing at, and she wanted the WSL stage with its big attendances. I could see that her mindset was growing with the focus that her next step would be to go to a bigger league and show her skills there.”
What would you say are her standout characteristics that fans can expect to see from Seraina?
“I would say first and foremost, her pace and the stretching runs that she does always gives trouble to defenders [trying] to control her, because she will be on their backs a lot. Then there are also her unselfish runs and the way that she is able to create spaces for the other forwards.
“I think they [the team] will enjoy playing with her a lot, because for her it's also about bringing teammates into good positions and creating goal scoring opportunities for them too. I expect a lot of assists from Seraina, and I’m sure you’ll see her creating spaces for her teammates in the offensive line.”
Back to your time at West Ham, we know that your time at the Club was disrupted by the pandemic… What are your overriding feelings when you look back on your time in east London?
“The COVID phase was definitely difficult. We missed the fans a lot and I also felt like my experience of being in England was also a bit disrupted by the whole situation. But from the beginning, I felt when we played at Rush Green, there was an amazing connection with the fans, and I felt at home from the first day.
“For me, it was never a problem to be away from home or away from my family, because I felt very welcomed by everyone, not only the players, but the whole staff and the whole Club. Every time I talk about West Ham here in Switzerland or in Germany, it's always a positive memory. Honestly, I really want to come and visit soon and watch a game or watch a training session and just be around the Club again because, like I said, it's really only good memories that I have with West Ham.
“The thing which I loved about West Ham is that it’s one Club. It never felt like we were the women’s team and that we didn’t have any connection to any other department. We shared Chadwell Heath with the Academy, and we always had conversations with the players and with the coaches from the different age groups within the Academy and that was something I really felt so grateful for. Also, doing my coaching badges and being able to learn just by walking around and watching the other coaches in their training sessions is something I really appreciated.
“I still have those connections with some of the players, most of them have left already, but we still talk about the West Ham times, even though everyone is at different clubs now. With Julia Simic I talk about West Ham and we both had the time of our lives playing there. I had so many good experiences, and it was only two years, but it felt much longer.
“I was doing my coaching badges while at the Club and preparing for the next step in my career and so West Ham is where it started, my coaching journey is related to West Ham, even though I was there as a player which is nice.”
Of course, women’s football has grown so much in recent years. Have you felt the impact of the growth of the WSL during your coaching career in Germany and Switzerland?
"It's amazing to see how it's grown, and the pace of the growth is also crazy, because it's hard for other countries to keep up with that pace. Even Germany is struggling to keep up with the level of marketing that's happening in England as well, to sell out stadiums like the Emirates for example. It was four years ago that West Ham played in the London Stadium against Tottenham, and we had an attendance of almost 20,000. Those kind of numbers for league games is amazing, and it is noticed in Germany and Switzerland as well.
"I love to see the growth of the women’s game, and I hope that other countries, especially Switzerland, follows now with the upcoming European Championships being held there. Maybe it will also help to boost the Swiss league and gain a bit more attendance as well, because that's a big, big difference between Switzerland and England. But it's getting better, for example at FC Basel we had the first home game of the season in the men's stadium and that was the first time that had happened and it's great.
"Much like West Ham, at FC Basel, the idea is that we are one club, not Basel women's team and then Basel men's team, we have all the infrastructure that we need there, which is very nice. So, I feel like progress is happening in small steps, but it's getting there, and the WSL is the benchmark."
How have you found the transition from player to coach?
"Even though I felt like I was prepared for it, I wasn't. Emotionally, to stop playing is quite something and it just needs time to get used to not being the player anymore. It's almost like your identity is kind of gone for a while. Your identity shifts because you've always been the player, and then all of a sudden, overnight, you're now the coach, and then you have to get used to this new role, and this new identity. Even though I loved the job from the first day, at the beginning, I felt a bit like I was at the wrong table. I was used to being in conversations at the players’ table and now I'm at the staff table. It was a big change, but I enjoyed it.
"I love that I can still be in football, in this role, and share my experiences. I feel that I'm a young coach and so I feel very close to the players, and I see it from their eyes and their views. Sometimes having the lens of a player, rather than the coach, helps when building connections. I really enjoy it so much. It's the best decision that I could have taken to just switch straight away into a coaching career and build a path during my playing career so that I could just retire and then start coaching straight away."
What's next for you on your coaching journey?
"As I said, I’m still a very young coach, and I'm aware that I need to learn a lot and gain experience. I'm quite happy in my role as an assistant to be able to learn from my head coach to get better in all aspects of the job. The goal would be getting my [UEFA] Pro License as a next step, and maybe one day, a head coach.
"However, if it's working out being an assistant to a head coach that I feel very comfortable with, and we make a good team then I don’t mind staying in the assistant coach role. For me, the goal would be to be in higher leagues, competing for titles and Champions League places. I think the aim is just to be competing at the highest level."
