Bundesliga
End of a model marriage: Bochum separates from coach Reis
Bochum parted ways with coach Thomas Reis. photo
© David Indian song / dpa
For a long time it was considered a guarantee of success. But after six games without winning a point, coach Thomas Reis and VfL Bochum go their separate ways. A new coach should now prevent relegation.
The former model marriage between VfL Bochum and Thomas Reis is divorced. After a historic false start to the season, even the football teacher’s bonus as a promotion hero was used up.
Concerned about the precarious state of the team, which suffered its sixth defeat in a row in a 3-1 defeat with FC Schalke 04 last Saturday, the club’s management drew a line. This made Reis the second Bundesliga coach after Domenico Tedesco in Leipzig to lose his job early in the season.
“We urgently need to find solutions to improve the very difficult sporting situation and at the same time to ignore issues that have a negative impact on it,” commented the new sports director Patrick Fabian on the separation. “We are convinced that in a different constellation it is more likely to get closer to staying up.”
Quake at the district club
First, the previous coach of the Bochum A-Youth, Heiko Butscher, takes over. The new interim coach and ex-VfL professional should also be on the bench against 1. FC Köln on Sunday. However, Fabian ruled out that Butscher could become a permanent solution if successful: “It has been clearly discussed with him that he will help for the time being and that he will go back to the U19s.”
Fabian has already drawn up a requirement profile for the new coach, who is supposed to start work “as quickly as possible”: “It should tend not to be the classic firefighter and not one who is completely inexperienced because the task is very demanding. He should be the Convey belief that something is still possible here and that we can hold the class.”
The end of the former VfL professional Reis (1995 to 2003) after long discussions with the club bosses caused a tremor at the Revierclub. After all, the head coach, who was hired in September 2019, was held in high esteem by the fans. “It should be clear to everyone that this decision is not easy for us. Thomas Reis has a connection to the club and the city that goes beyond the successful past three years,” said Fabian.
The return to the Bundesliga two years ago and the strong last season as a promoter were closely linked to the name of the 48-year-old football teacher, who beat VfL as table 17. of the 2nd Bundesliga. Fabian expressed understanding for the first critical comments from fans on the Internet, but asked for insight: “It is understandable that the fans react emotionally. We have to accept that. But we are at the bottom of the table and are already four points behind the next place. “
Historical negative mark
The fact that VfL was only the third Bundesliga club after Düsseldorf (1991/92) and Mainz (2020/21) in the first six games without a point and also caused a historic negative mark with 4:18 goals, Reis took almost all arguments . In addition, media reports that the former professional flirted with a move to FC Schalke in the summer contributed to further tensions between the club leaders and the coach. The negotiations to extend the contract, which ran until 2023, were postponed to the time of the World Cup break and were seen as an indication of dwindling trust.
The coach who has now been released had already pointed out before the start of the season how difficult the second year after promotion would be. The financially limited VfL invested the smallest amount of all 18 first division clubs in transfers. The team has not yet been able to absorb the departures of several top performers.
Reis himself had been combative the day before his release. “I can only say that I’m still keen to push the buck. I’ve achieved a lot in Bochum, that’s not the end of the road for me. You can do it with me too.” However, those responsible at VfL saw things differently.
Reis said goodbye to the Bochum fans via “Kicker”: “A fantastic journey since 2019 comes to an end for me today. I would have liked to have continued to work with my team on the turnaround and I am convinced that we would have done it with your help .”