Huddersfield Town v Leeds United: Why West Yorkshire derby day means taking on friends and 'family' for Andre Breitenreiter

Terriers coach Andre Breitenreiter, who will be in the John Smith's Stadium dugout for the first time, regards Willy Gnonto and Georginio Rutter as part of his footballing "family". One of the first people to congratulate him on his new job was Daniel Farke.

The next time Breitenreiter sees them they will be doing their upmost to take all three points for the club his chairman Kevin Nagle kicked off the pre-derby name-calling by referring to as “L**ds”.

Gnonto came of footballing age winning the Swiss Super League with Breitenreiter's Zurich in 2020-21. The coach joined Hoffenheim, working with Rutter for half a season before Leeds once more got out their chequebook.

"We like each other before the game and after the game but not during the game!" stresses a smiling Breitenreiter more than once when asked about his proteges.

"With Willy Gnonto we won the championship in Zurich and at the end of the season he became a national team player for Italy (aged 18).

"He's a really good player, a good character and has quality on the pitch. We've stayed in contact.

"Georginio Rutter was my player in Hoffenheim. He signed for Leeds for a lot of money (an Elland Road record £36m) so we missed him.

"He's a great character, a very good individual one on one, quick – he also scored some goals.

"They're good characters and I'll be happy to meet them but only after the game.

"As a manager I spend a lot of time with players. You celebrate promotions and winning championships and it only works when you are like a family. That doesn't mean I stay in contact with 25 players from each club, it's not possible, but we have a connection our whole life.

"Every player I meet in the future I spend a good time with them. It's the same with these players."

Gnonto's career path has taken a bit of a wrong turn this season, sidetracked initially by his failed attempt to force a transfer when Leeds were relegated from the Premier League, then blocked by the form of Dan James and Crysencio Summerville. Five goals in February have set things right, though.

"I was not surprised because it's always a question of quality," says Breitenreiter, who won his first game as Town coach 2-1 at Watford last week. "Last season was a situation where he learned a lot because they started well and in the second half of the season they lost a lot.

"These are moments where you collect experiences. There were some problems in the summer around a transfer but now he is in shape, playing well and scoring.

"We hope we can mark both very tightly so they cannot show us their quality. We will have players against them with high quality and it's exciting to see what will happen."

Although not the first German coach to have success in England – David Wagner, for one, beat him to it – Farke was a trailblazer for the likes of Breitenreiter but the connection between them is more personal.

"We know each other, he's a great manager who's had a lot of success," says Breitenreiter, who insists last season's 3-1 home win for Farke's Borussua Monchengladbach over Hoffenheim was skewed by Stefan Posch's 19th-minute red card.

"I like him, he wrote to me on the evening after the announcement (of Breitenreiter's new job).

"We had two holidays together many years ago. It wasn't planned to go together but we met up.

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"He's a good character and a very good manager and I'll be happy to see him before and after but during the game no."

On Farke's part, it is simply a matter of compartmentalising, which is why despite their friendship, his contact with Breitenreiter has so far been very fleeting.

"With the coaches I'm close to there is no rivalry," he says.

"We know it's a job where sometimes you have to face each other but I never rate it like a personal duel or a game of chess between coaches. We also know about the challenges of this job and you don't have the time to be so close.

"Every coach knows there is more or less no time for anything else other than to be concentrated on the football. When you send a message you keep it quite short and don't expect an immediate reply.

"You don't call people every day because you know how busy it is, especially for a new coach, and you want to give him a bit of peace and rest because the days don't have enough hours.

"It's not like we're texting each other every day or asking to go for a coffee or a drink or a meal together. It's a very busy and exhausting job with lots of challenges so we stay a bit away from each other.

"But if there is a chance to see each other and make quality time out of it and enjoying being together, we do.

"That's how it is with the coaches I'm close to and really like, and who also like me. The relationship is more or less inspired by loyalty and friendship rather than competition."

They are friendships which will be put to the test for a couple of hours, but it should be nothing they cannot withstand.