For many people, little in life would come close to coaching your boyhood team. But for Alexander Nouri, managing McDonald’s restaurants might just top that feeling.Following a 13-year professional soccer career, in which he played mostly in the German lower leagues and also had a brief spell with the Seattle Sounders, Nouri took up coaching.Former soccer coach Nouri now runs McDonald’s restaurantsGettyHe earned his licence in 2016, alongside former Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann, who was top of the class.Nouri had a stint as head coach at Werder Bremen, and helped his boyhood team escape a relegation battle before turning them into contenders for European football.He then took roles with FC Ingolstadt and Hertha BSC, before landing as assistant coach to Gregg Berhalter with the US Men’s National Team in 2021.But around a year later, following a short stint with Greek third-tier side Kavala, Nouri called time on soccer.In the years since, he’s swapped the touchline for a titan of the fast food industry.Former USMNT assistant swaps coaching soccer for McDonald’s management“It didn’t feel right anymore,” Nouri said of coaching soccer, in a recent interview with The Athletic.“And the job is so demanding that it needs 100 per cent of you. If you do it with 98 per cent, it’s not right.”Instead of throwing himself back into professional sports, Nouri has recently found something new to put his energy into: Running three branches of McDonald’s in north-west Germany.“I just felt at this moment, this was the end of that life story (in football). And so I have to begin something new,” he explained.“It wasn’t a decision only of myself. It was a decision with my family, and we made it together after years of constant moves and uncertainty in professional soccer.Nouri runs three branches of McDonald’s in north-west GermanyGetty“We felt it was the right time to build a more stable future together.”To become a McDonald’s franchisee, Nouri went through a tough application process.It took around a year, and included several rounds of interviews, training for the new role and a five-hour assessment, which required the former USMNT assistant to come up with a business plan.Nouri passed all those tests, and took charge of his first two restaurants in January.He added a third in June, and now has around 150 employees.In overseeing the three chains, Nouri sees plenty of similarities with soccer, and often applies some of the lessons he learned as a coach.Nouri has taken lessons learned from the likes of Klinsmann into his new roleGetty“I was lucky to experience all of these great things, like working alongside Jurgen Klinsmann. Gregg Berhalter is a good friend of mine; he taught me lessons that continue to shape my leadership today,” Nouri told The Athletic.“I learned a lot from these guys. I learned from Jurgen to have your confidence and your point of view, but always challenge it with different angles or perspectives, and then good things come together if you have different perspectives and, at the end, make a decision.“The ‘growth mindset’, I learned from Jurgen and from Gregg. They always brought external expertise into the organisations to challenge their own processes and everything, and to experience that alongside those personalities was learning for me.“And that helps me now in my job right now as well.”Nouri coached now Bayern Munich and Germany star Gnaby at Werder BremenGettySoccer coaching is often seen as the pinnacle. But for Nouri, managing McDonald’s is more rewarding. He even has time to help run youth tournaments, for the next generation of stars.“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.“I believe in karma. I really want to be a good employer. I love what I’m doing.”