Basically, “as a team we weren’t really living anymore,” Frank Schmöller said before his coaching debut in professional football. The interim coach of TSV 1860 Munich had taken over an unsettled team from Maurizio Jacobacci and then announced that his short term in office would primarily want to revive the players’ self-confidence. After the away game at Arminia Bielefeld late on Sunday afternoon, it is clear that there were already some signs of life from the sixties, but despite a clear increase in chances, the Lions lost 0:2 (0:2) on the Alm. “It’s a bit difficult for me right now, I admit,” said Schmöller immediately after the game, “because it was a completely avoidable defeat.” On Wednesday the team will play their last game of the year at Waldhof Mannheim – and could even find themselves in a relegation zone in the event of a heavy defeat.
Who has the most self-confidence? Mostly players with experience. Schmöller relied on veterans, especially in defense: Phillipp Steinhart was back in the starting line-up for the first time after an injury, with Tim Rieder right next to him as a central defender. But after 24 minutes all the goals had already been scored. Ex-Lion Merveille Biankadi scored the first goal with a shot against goalkeeper David Richter (12th). Immediately afterwards, probably at the end of the twelve-minute protest phase in the German stadiums, the sixty fans threw black smoke pots onto the field, which caused a five-minute delay and caused burn marks on the grass. Jesper Verlaat added the second goal a little later: Fabian Klos sprinted past the captain’s supposed volley clearance, lobbed over Richter and scored (24′). In attack, Sixty looked hard, but not much happier: When Bielefeld keeper Jonas Kersken allowed a long-range shot from Albion Vrenezi to bounce forward, Manfred Starke put the ball over the goal (20th).
It is not yet clear when the new trainer will be presented, says current managing director Pfeifer
At halftime, Sixty’s current managing director Marc-Nicolai Pfeifer answered questions at Magentasport, at least as best he could: For example, he couldn’t say when the new coach would be presented. But it makes sense if the designated sports director Christian Werner is involved in this decision. Pfeifer did not dispel the latest allegations from ex-Lion Marius Wörl that Sixty had canceled his summer transfer half an hour before the deadline.
A total of four former Lions were on the pitch for Bielefeld, the current Lions seemed to have their problems with the additionally motivated opponents. But when the team seemed already defeated after almost an hour, they suddenly showed signs of life. When Arminia’s Maximilian Großer saw the red card after an emergency stop on Morris Schröter (64th), the guests even dominated – and showed that they are still alive, even if not always with fair means. Schröter, for example, accused Fabian Klos of an exaggerated reaction after a free kick to his head and received heavy criticism – Klos, who plays with a mask, suffered a serious head injury in 2022. And Rieder brought ex-Lion Christopher Lannert off his feet so spectacularly that everyone in Bielefeld in the stadium was on their feet. There was a lot of life involved.
The chances to score also increased. Schröter and Vrenezi failed with great chances against Gersker (57th, 69th), substitute Julian Guttau put a free kick on the inside post in an exciting final phase (85th), Kilian Ludewig only narrowly missed the ball in the long added time. “It’s like always,” said Schröter afterwards: “Played well for 45 minutes, didn’t score a goal, lost again.” Interim coach Schmöller is close to the team and has brought in a breath of fresh air. However, when it comes to exploiting opportunities like this, it doesn’t matter who is on the sidelines.