Coach quake at the Betzenberg: Schuster leaves: Is Klose coming?

Bundesliga 2 - Coach quake at the Betzenberg: Schuster leaves: Is Klose coming?

The coaching shake-up at Betzenberg came out of nowhere. In a complete surprise, second division soccer club 1. FC Kaiserslautern parted ways with head coach Dirk Schuster on Thursday and also relieved his assistant Sascha Franz of his duties. A very famous name is already being touted as his successor. Former world champion Miroslav Klose could return to the Betzenberg after 19 years.

"You can never plan a leave of absence in terms of time. The separation was very difficult for all of us. But if you think it's the right thing to do, then you have to do it," said FCK managing director Thomas Hengen, explaining the decision.

The Palatinate club, who are without a win in five matches, responded to the current sporting situation and the team's poor performances with the dismissal. "We are an ambitious club. Passion and willingness must always be there. That has been lost to a certain extent. We must not show any complacency. Stagnation is a step backwards," said Hengen.

FCK had recently lost three games in a row under Schuster and had slipped to eleventh place in the table. Ahead of their visit to 1. FC Magdeburg on Saturday (20:30/Sky/Sport1), they are only five points ahead of 16th-placed Schalke 04.

"I think it's relatively normal for there to be difficult phases, especially in the second year," said Schuster in a farewell message to the fans. "Our common goal was a mid-table finish - and that's where we're handing over the team now."

Schuster, whose contract would have expired at the end of the season, was still in charge of training on Wednesday. The 55-year-old was then informed of his departure on Thursday morning. "Dirk was in our office this morning. We informed him of the decision. You can imagine that he was naturally very disappointed," reported Hengen.

Schuster expressly thanked the fans in his farewell speech: "Betzenberg is once again being spoken about with respect and recognition in soccer Germany. You can be proud of that. And that makes us proud too. That's why we can say: It was a great time. A great time with you!"

For the time being, the team will be prepared for the upcoming tasks by co-coaches Niklas Martin and Oliver Schäfer, goalkeeping coach Andreas Claus and team manager Florian Dick. According to the TV channel Sky, Klose is also among the possible successor candidates. The former goalscorer coached Austrian first division club SCR Altach until March of this year. Since then, the 2014 world champion has been without a club. Klose once made his Bundesliga debut with FCK before moving to Werder Bremen in 2004.

Coach Enrico Maaßen, on the other hand, is also rumored to be unavailable following his departure from FC Augsburg. Another candidate for the vacant position is said to be Michael Wimmer, who is under contract with Austria Vienna. According to information from "Kicker", FCK is said to have already held talks with him. "We still need a little time and will take this time," announced Hengen.

Schuster took over the Red Devils in May 2022 shortly before the relegation matches against Dynamo Dresden and led FCK back to the Bundesliga 2 after four years in the third tier. In the year of promotion, the Palatinate club was in fourth place at the winter break with 29 points. In the second half of the season, however, they only managed four wins and four draws. In the end, that was enough for ninth place.

After a poor start to the season with defeats against FC St. Pauli and Schalke 04, things seemed to be improving again. Kaiserslautern remained unbeaten in the following seven games and worked their way up to third place. But then the form curve dropped sharply.

A much-acclaimed 3:2 win against Bundesliga side 1. FC Köln in the DFB Cup saw the team advance to the round of 16, where they will face 1. FC Nürnberg next Tuesday. In the league, however, there have been four defeats and just one point in the last five games. The poor performance in the recent 3-0 defeat to Holstein Kiel prompted those responsible to take action. "We didn't foresee such a dynamic development. It only became apparent at the weekend," admitted Hengen.

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