34th matchday
Bochum relegation with trainer thanks: “Be the greatest”
Thanks to a 3-0 win against Leverkusen, first-class again in the coming season: Bochum’s Takuma Asano celebrates his goal to make it 2-0. photo
© Fabian Strauch/dpa
After one point from seven games, Thomas Letsch took over in Bochum. VfL celebrates staying up in the league on Saturday. A success for the trainer and his close-knit community.
In the midst of thousands of blissful fans in the Bochum stadium, coach Thomas Letsch and his heroes could hardly save themselves from hugs. The relegation of VfL Bochum in the Bundesliga by beating the European Cup aspirants Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 (2-0) caused great emotions in the Ruhr city.
“What distinguished the team, the club and the city: We got up again and again, believed in it. And it had to be the 34th matchday, home game, full house,” said Thomas Letsch, a small eternity after he had heard the hustle and bustle had escaped.
Letsch, the architect of the remarkable path of the traditional club this season, carried the message appropriately on his black T-shirt: “Together One”. He wanted to let more thoughts follow – in vain: In front of the press room, the fans demanded his presence, he opened the window, shouted: “You are the greatest”, and listened to the chants devoutly.
Weak start
After seven match days, VfL had one point and was last. The separation from promotion coach Thomas Reis had already been carried out noisily. Letsch started the eighth game day with a 0:4 in Leipzig – then set a first exclamation point with his team in the 3:0 against Frankfurt. “He put us in a good mood, gave us confidence and gave us faith,” said Bochum captain Anthony Losilla. After the 2-0 defeat in Gladbach, the Frenchman was heartbreaking and futilely fighting back tears in front of the TV cameras. On Saturday, the 37-year-old could not “prevent the tears” for joy.
First, the red card for Leverkusen’s Amine Adli (8th minute) paved the way in front of 26,000 spectators. Then followed the goals of Philipp Förster (19th) and Takuma Asano (34th). Kevin Stöger (86th) puts the final point with a lob. “The whole of Bochum deserved this relegation,” said Stöger after his artful shot. “It’s just awesome. After the first six games, nobody thought we could do it. Not the coach, not the team, but the whole club did it.
For Bochum, staying up in the league is just as important as for the other clubs in the basement, simply because of the much greater financial possibilities, for example because of the high TV money. VfL had already announced that if they stayed up, they would be able to start the new season with a higher budget for licensed players. There is talk of 35 to 40 million euros compared to around 30 million so far.
Also Leverkusen with catching up
The coming season – that’s far away for now. Bayer Leverkusen can also take a breather. Thanks to the bankruptcy in Wolfsburg, sixth place and participation in the qualification for the Conference League is perfect. Coach Xabi Alonso took over the team as the successor to Gerardo Seoane in 17th place. “We were angry today,” said the one-time title collector as a player who is now in his first season as head coach. “When I came, the situation was very bad. Now we’ve made it to Europe.”
It could even be the Europa League next Saturday if RB Leipzig should win the DFB Cup final against Frankfurt. “I’ll be a Leipzig fan next weekend,” said Alonso.
The direct relegation gave colleague Letsch an unexpected holiday. His family is already on the way, but he hasn’t booked yet because of a possible relegation. But he wants to do it straight away. But before that there was still the party with the team. “It will definitely be beer – I don’t know if there will be anything more,” said the 54-year-old and disappeared – probably like last year into the notorious Bochum Bermuda Triangle.