Curious: Grammozis succeeds Schuster again
In the DFB Cup round of 16 against league rivals 1. FC Nürnberg, 1. FC Kaiserslautern has a new head coach on the bench. Above all, he has to deliver in the league, where the Palatinate team continues to weaken. In the first match after the dismissal of Dirk Schuster, the team suffered a heavy defeat.
A lot of work, but little time - that is probably the credo for Dimitrios Grammozis as the new head coach of 1. FC Kaiserslautern. On Sunday afternoon, the second-division soccer club made the appointment of the 45-year-old German-Greek official. Grammozis succeeds Dirk Schuster, who was surprisingly suspended on Thursday, and returns to the Betzenberg after 18 years.
The new coach, who comes to Kaiserslautern together with his assistant Sven Piepenbrock, led the first training session on the same day. Grammozis will make his debut on the touchline on Tuesday: FCK will then host league rivals 1 FC Nürnberg in the DFB Cup round of 16 at the Fritz Walter Stadium (6 p.m./Sky and ARD as well as in the ntv.de live ticker).
Curious: Grammozis had already taken over from Schuster in 2019, back then at SV Darmstadt 98. The former professional was under contract with the Lilies until the summer of 2020. He then took over as head coach of FC Schalke 04 in March 2021, but was unable to prevent relegation to Bundesliga 2. A year later, he was suspended because the Royal Blues' return to the Bundesliga was in jeopardy. Now Grammozis should at least not be completely unfamiliar with the environment in the Palatinate: from 2000 to 2005, he played 117 games for FCK.
Team urgently needs stability
On Saturday evening, the Lauter team lost 4-1 (1-1) at 1. FC Magdeburg under the guidance of interim coaches Niklas Martin and Oliver Schäfer and were particularly disappointing in the second half. It was the fourth defeat in a row. The Palatinate side have picked up just one point from their last six games and are slipping further and further down the table.
Grammozis' first goal must therefore be to stabilize the team and deliver good results quickly. The club did not give any details about the duration of his contract. Despite the negative series in the league, the fans are eager for the cup match against Nuremberg. The 2,500 or so supporters who traveled to Magdeburg gave their team a message for the journey home after the final whistle with a banner that read "Fight and passion for the quarter-finals".
"I think we gave it our all today and didn't give up. Those are the virtues that Thomas Hengen talked about this week and they're what make our club what it is. The fans got us fired up again for Tuesday," said Kaiserslautern captain Jean Zimmer. What the new coach Grammozis wants to achieve in the short time until the game against Nuremberg will only be revealed on Monday. He will then be officially introduced at a press conference.
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Grammozis' focus now shifts to the Bundesliga 2 soccer scene, as he takes charge of 1.FC Kaiserslautern after their recent struggles. In his previous stint at Bundesliga 2's 1.FC Nürnberg, Grammozis will be looking to turn things around when the two teams face off in the DFB Cup round of 16, a fixture the Red Devils are eagerly anticipating.
Source: www.ntv.de
