Said Salazar Déciga appointed head coach of Germany’s flag football team in Düsseldorf; to lead Germany to highest finish at Worlds
Said Salazar Déciga: The “Feathered Serpent” of Mexico at the helm of Germany’s flag football “Active Roster 2026”
Said Salazar Déciga: The “Feathered Serpent” of Mexico at the helm of Germany’s flag football “Active Roster 2026”
Mexico’s retired flag football star spoke to Olympics.com about taking on his former team at the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships as the head coach of the German national squad, one quality of German culture that he has heartily embraced and the key Mexican quality he is trying to teach his new players.
Said Salazar Déciga felt torn when facing the spectator tribunes on the opening day of the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Black-red-gold flags with a stern black eagle crest, the same as on the jersey Salazar was wearing as the head coach of the German men’s flag football team, filled one side of the stands. On the other were the green-white-red flags, a golden eagle proudly perched in the centre, of Mexico – the national team that Salazar played for until 2022.
But as entwined as his allegiances were, the 35-year-old stood steady through the first Germany-Mexico match he took on as coach.
“It’s the team I’ve played for. It’s my nation, it’s my culture, it is something that I love,” the Mexico native told Olympics.com.
“It’s very difficult to be Mexican on one side and to represent Germany on the other . But I think that these types of scenarios are meant to be enjoyed, to go out and enjoy the game. And even though at some point I felt that I was on both sides, I will always play my role, and my role is to be head coach of Germany.
“ I love Mexico. I love being Mexican, but the reality is that now my responsibility and my role is to take Team Germany to the highest position possible .”
Salazar was appointed head coach of the German team in January 2025 . Before that he played for the Aguilas Blancas and Tec de Monterrey clubs in Mexico, and helped his home country to a bronze medal at the 2016 Flag Football World Championships and a silver at the 2021 edition.
The bronze at the 2022 World Games capped off Salazar’s playing career, after which he transitioned to coaching.
He first coached in France and later moved to Germany.
“For me, football is everything ,” he said. “I’ve been doing this since 1996 and I was four years old, so I don’t remember being good at another thing, so football is my life. I’m taking decisions based on football. I’m moving to different cities because of football.
“Football is what is setting the decisions in my life, and I feel grateful for being in the right lane. I feel that I’m in my lane, and my lane is football .”
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Adding feathers and sparkle to “Active Roster 2026”
Flag football has taken Salazar to different countries and continents and at times the culture shock was stark. None as great as when he went to Germany in 2025.
The new coach knew things would be different from the moment he was added to the team’s WhatsApp chat and saw its name.
“The group is ‘ Active Roster 2026 ’. As simple as that. Super German,” Salazar said with a laugh. “And I love that as well. And I try to embrace this part of the culture , like being on time, ‘We’re going to do this’. As a leader you have to play with those cultural factors.”
For comparison, the Mexican WhatsApp chat, when Salazar played for the team, was called “Serpiente Emplumada” (Feathered Serpent).
“It’s spicy, with salsa!” the German head coach reminisced.
While it has been almost five years since Salazar played for Mexico, he never lost touch with his roots. And now that he is in Germany, he is trying to bring some of that Mexican flavour to his new team.
“Passion, passion,” he said of the quality that makes Mexico stand out among other flag football sides. “In Germany, it’s more structure: ‘We have to do this, we have to measure this’. And sometimes when you’re playing a high-level sport, you have to be structured, you have to be methodical. You have to have a plan. But you don’t have to forget to have fun .
“You always go to have fun, so I’m trying to tell my players, ‘Even if we are playing at the high level, don’t forget why you are here. And you are here because you love the sport , you love football. You love being there catching balls and doing your thing when you were a kid. So don’t forget this’. And it’s good because they are getting this idea and they are embracing it.”
Sometimes, however, Salazar is reminded in a harsh way just how far Mexican passion can spread. When Germany took the lead in their opening match at the 2026 Worlds, some of Salazar’s former Mexican teammates cheekily tried to divert his focus.
“They were talking to me, ‘Hey, Said, what are you doing?’ Trying to distract me,” he said with a laugh. “ Trash talk, but all innocent , calm.
“For example, there was situations where we knew what play was coming and we executed perfectly. And then as soon as we did the big play, which was in safety, we scored two points. They told me like, ‘Hey, you are watching the plays from the previous year!’ And I told them like, ‘Yeah, I’m doing my job. I’m watching the tape, so don’t call this play again. Otherwise, you know the result!’
“I respond in a proper way. I close my mouth and I respond with football .”
Germany and Mexico met in their opening games at the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships.
Same Olympic dream, new role for Said Salazar Déciga
Germany ultimately lost 30-22 in their opening match, but not without putting up a fierce fight against the world No. 3 team and reigning co-Americas champions.
Both Germany and Mexico are in Düsseldorf to compete not only for world medals but also the Olympic quotas that are up for grabs in the tournament. The two top teams of each gender will secure tickets to Los Angeles 2028 , where flag football is making its Olympic debut.
The Olympics are the pinnacle for Salazar, who loyally followed every edition on his living room TV as a child, Usain Bolt ’s record-breaking sprints etched with reverent awe in his memory.
He visualised going to the Olympics as a player when he first heard about the possibility of its inclusion in 2021, playing each tournament with the vision of Paris 2024 on his mind. But two more years passed before the official announcement was made in October 2023, at which point Salazar had already wrapped up his career.
Not discouraged, Salazar’s new dream is to reach the Olympic Games as a coach with Team Germany.
“I even have goosebumps because that’s my dream,” Salazar said.
“For me, being in the Olympics is the highest level you can ever reach in any sport as an athlete. It’s the highest level, so when I’m recruiting, for example, players from football and they’re still hesitating if they want to join flag football, I’m telling them, ‘That’s the highest level, being an Olympic athlete’ . Just being an Olympic athlete but imagine yourself with a medal… Crazy!”
After helping Mexico win three major medals on the international stage as a player, Said Salazar Déciga’s new goal is to lead Germany to the Olympic Games at LA28 as the team’s head coach.
Flag Football | World Championships | Düsseldorf | Germany