The image of the man hiding his face in the stands of the Wolfsburg stadium is gradually becoming a standard motif on Bundesliga television. You can see a person who has pulled his visor over one half of his face and his jacket collar over the other half of his face, but the almost complete darkening does not prevent any viewer who is halfway familiar with the scene from recognizing the disgruntled manager Jörg Schmadtke behind the masquerade.
The image of the vainly defaced man was again the appropriate comment on Tuesday about the unsuccessful performance of the Wolfsburg, who set a private record in the 2: 3 against 1. FC Köln: Six competitive defeats in a row, it has not yet given, since VfL has belonged to the first division, so since 1997. The undesirable milestone – an expression of a stable sporting crisis – is nuisance enough for the sports director, but Schmadtke should at least hurt Anthony Modeste’s delightful comment on the game.
The Cologne double goalscorer had reported to ARD with great pleasure that this victory was particularly nice for him, because: “We won at Wolfsburg, Schmadtke’s team.” Modeste dedicated very special greetings to this: “You always see each other twice in life.” Har har har.
Parallels between Schmadtke and Magath become visible
When Schmadtke was still responsible for the sports business of 1.FC Cologne four and a half years ago, he had accused the goal scorer Modeste of greed for money when he moved to China. It came to a rift, the transfer ultimately had to be handled by other club authorities. Now one might think that this dispute from the summer of 2017 is an age-old thing – and that Modestes revenge seems a little childish. But the controversy is of current importance. Because Schmadtke’s tendency to rift, which appears again and again, also corresponds to the image of the manager hiding under the umbrella: through repetition it has become a standard motif.
Felix Magath used to fare similarly to the Wolfsburg boss when he was still moving from club to club. The coach constantly encountered players from opponents whom he had once looked after himself in an inimitably heartless manner and who now showed him the jubilation of vengeance when they scored a goal or won against Magath’s team. Schmadtke – apart from Modeste and other companions whom he rigorously left behind in the dispute – has agitated against his own coaches in recent years. He had relationships with Mirko Slomka in Hanover, Peter Stöger in Cologne (in the late stage), Bruno Labbadia and, most recently, Oliver Glasner in Wolfsburg, which he openly marked as non-relationships by refusing to address and communicate.
Glasner is just getting Eintracht Frankfurt back on track
At the latest at Glasner the scam was notorious, and that has now also been noticed by the VfL fans who shouted “Schmadtke out”: Your club already has the second head coach this season, after Mark van Bommel Florian Kohfeldt is also in trouble while himself the successful Glasner in Wolfsburg is now making a name for himself at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Schmadtke, who likes to portray himself as a grumbler, but is of an extremely sensitive nature when his recognition is in doubt, has to come up with something new. The next reunion with Modeste is imminent in May.