Sports director Sven Mislintat is gone, the head coach has not yet been found: In the midst of the sporting relegation crisis, the continuity at VfB Stuttgart that was once aspired to is finally over.
With the separation from Mislintat, the Swabian Bundesliga soccer club is facing a far-reaching new beginning and is now looking for a new sports director in addition to the future head coach. VfB announced that the central management positions should be filled by the start of training on December 12th. In addition to a Mislintat successor, it must also be clarified whether interim coach Michael Wimmer can continue - or not.
Labbadia approaching?
"I do think that you have to look for a new coach from the outside," said former national player Karl-Heinz Förster of the German Press Agency. According to a report by the "t-online" portal, Bruno Labbadia is to succeed Pellegrino Matarazzo, who was released several weeks ago - Wimmer is to move back into the second row. There was no confirmation of the personnel from the Stuttgarters, the club did not want to comment on the report.
The separation from Mislintat is understandable for Förster. "It was already the case that the team hadn't developed any further in the last two years," said the 1980 European champion. "At some point the sports director will have to be measured by the results," explained the 64-year-old. "He is partly responsible for the sporting situation." The VfB is on the relegation place.
The talks with Mislintat had dragged on, but a farewell had been in the offing for a long time. The contract, which ran until June 30, 2023, has now been terminated with immediate effect. The 50-year-old, once employed by the more glamorous clubs Borussia Dortmund and FC Arsenal, did not accept "an offer that VfB believes is absolutely in line with the market". "Ending the negotiations now is a joint decision by all those responsible," said CEO Alexander Wehrle.
Sky: Mislintat in Liverpool under discussion
According to media reports, Mislintat could find a new job in the English Premier League. As reported by Sky Sport, he is in conversation with Liverpool FC, coach Jürgen Klopp's club.
Wehrle's predecessor Thomas Hitzlsperger had lured Mislintat to VfB in spring 2019. Mislintat had once formed a successful trio with him and the coach Matarazzo, who was released in October. Mislintat did not hide the fact that the wide-ranging competencies that Hitzlsperger had allowed him are important to him. The area of responsibility should now have been a central factor in the fact that the native of Dortmund said goodbye after "several days" of talks with the board and the supervisory board.
During the negotiations, Mislintat had to put up with the fact that Hannover's sports director Marcus Mann and Greuther Fürth's managing director Rachid Azzouzi were and are being traded as potential successors. "In our talks we didn't find a common denominator for continuing my work at VfB," Mislintat was quoted as saying: "I very much regret that, because VfB has become a real affair of the heart for me in recent years and I'd like to continue mine contributed to the positive development of this great club."
The Swabian team put together by Mislintat has not developed as hoped in recent months after being saved from relegation on the last day of last season. His transfer policy was recently viewed more critically than Mislintat was used to at VfB for a long time. Despite the difficult sporting situation, he enjoyed great popularity among many fans.
The relationship with Wehrle, on the other hand, was considered strained since the chairman of the board had broadened the sporting area without consultation and brought in the former world champions Sami Khedira and Philipp Lahm as advisors. Former VfB captain Christian Gentner is scheduled to start on January 1, 2023 as head of the licensed player department.
Time is of the essence at the 16th place in the table. Seven weeks ago Matarazzo stumbled upon the fact that VfB had to wait longer than ever for their first win this season. Interim coach Michael Wimmer took over for six Bundesliga games before the World Cup break, winning three of them at home and is now one of the candidates. The clubless Jess Thorup and Alfred Schreuder from Ajax Amsterdam were also traded early - now Bruno Labbadia could have won the race.
