Italian opera knows many wonderful pieces. The triumphal march from Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida, for example, or the touching aria “Vissi d’Arte” from Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca. However, the musical legacy of his homeland was no consolation for the Italian Ulrich Massimo Forte during this week in exile in East Westphalia. “Football isn’t a request concert,” said the 48-year-old soccer coach, soberly, after only playing cacophonies with second division team Arminia Bielefeld in the first four games. On Wednesday he was therefore given leave again after only a month and a half in office. The Puccini aria now suits his mood better than the Verdi march.
It was only six months ago that the world of Arminia was still in order. The table showed the traditional club in 14th place, six points ahead of the relegation places. The table of the first division mind you. “Finally, what we are doing in Bielefeld is being noticed,” said sports director Samir Arabi at the time, continuing his inflatable boat metaphor about Arminia’s outsider role in the Bundesliga racing boat competition. People are now driving with outboard motors, Arabi joked in February. Shortly thereafter, the dinghy began to sink.
On February 19, Arminia won 1-0 against Union Berlin in the Bundesliga. It is their last league win to date. This was followed last season by eleven games with eight defeats and three draws and direct relegation to the second division. In the second division, Bielefeld suffered four more defeats at the start. Makes a total of 15 winless league games in a row. The Bundesliga relegated, actually a candidate for resurgence, is now second division penultimate.
Forte came from Yverdon with good credentials but he faced a team in transition
The new coach, who came from the Swiss second division club Yverdon-Sport in the summer, never gained the access to the staff to be able to stop the seasonal decline. That was possibly also due to complex sensitivities within the squad. Of the eleven starting players who were on the pitch in the 1-0 win against Union Berlin on February 19, seven are no longer there. The relegation and departure of many relevant players have left the remaining footballers in a challenging situation. Without a point and with a goal difference of 2:9, they play second-placed Heidenheim on Sunday. Then already with a new head coach: Coach Daniel Scherning changes immediately from neighboring Osnabrück to Arminia.
It was foreseeable that the start of the season would be difficult. Goalkeeper Stefan Ortega went to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City as a back-up, while Arminia has the complete back four with Cedric Brunner (Schalke), Amos Pieper (Bremen), Joakim Nilsson (St. Louis/USA) and Jacob Laursen (Liège). left, also the midfielders Fabian Kunze (Hanover) and Alessandro Schöpf (Vancouver/Canada) and the winger Patrick Wimmer (Wolfsburg).
Of course, these players have been replaced in their correct position, but neither the former reserve goalkeeper Stefan Kapino nor the defensive additions Silvan Sidler (Lucerne), Frederik Jäkel (Leipzig), Oliver Hüsing (Heidenheim) and Bastian Oczipka (Union Berlin) have been able to provide stability so far.
Has once again pulled on the trainer’s emergency brake: Bielefeld’s manager Samir Arabi.
(Photo: Ulrich Hufnagel/Imago)
It is also striking that the attackers Janni Serra, Fabian Klos, Masaya Okugawa and Robin Hack who remained in the club shot out a meager quota with just two goals in the four opening games. It is said of the Japanese Okugawa that he would actually rather play in the Bundesliga. Even such imponderables, two weeks before the end of the transfer period, may not be good for the internal climate. “We need a turnaround and we lacked the conviction that we could be successful in the current configuration,” Arabi said of the reasons for the coach’s release.
A coaching dismissal after just four games fits well with Arabi’s decisiveness. In March 2021 he surprisingly fired coach Uwe Neuhaus, in autumn 2021 he surprisingly did not fire his successor Frank Kramer, only to surprisingly replace him in April shortly before the end of the season with the surprising interim coach Marco Kostmann. With his decision for the rather unknown Forte, Arabi surprised again in the summer, only to surprise with his dismissal.
The long-suffering fans have had enough of surprises for now. They have long since gotten used to the emotional zigzag course of their heart club, but would simply be happy about a very profane victory for a change.