You can’t exactly say that these are particularly good times for the Würzburger Kickers. Last weekend they lost 4-0 to Bayreuth, which cost coach Markus Zschiesche his job, the team is stumbling behind its own expectations and, to top it all off, local rivals FC Schweinfurt 05 are at the top of the regional league table. So there have been better times for the Kickers. But when exactly?
You almost have to look up how long it has been since they were doing well. But it is actually quite reassuring news that the club parted ways with its coach at the start of the week. That probably doesn’t apply to Markus Zschiesche – but for everyone else, the change of coach offers the orientation that was lost due to the team’s disorganized performances. It is by no means the first time that the Kickers have sacked their coach in the autumn. And now that it is that time again, people know that it is getting dark earlier and earlier outside, the leaves are gradually falling from the trees and it will soon be time to dress warmly again.
This was the case in 2017, when Stephan Schmidt had to leave at the beginning of October, and it was the same in 2020 with Michael Schiele, who left at the end of September. His successor Marco Antwerpen only lasted until the beginning of November, when autumn was still in its final stages, in 2021 Torsten Ziegner only made it until the beginning of October – and now, in 2024, Zschiesche will be leaving his coaching position at the beginning of September.
After the failure in the promotion play-offs against the reserves of second division club Hannover 96, Würzburg’s sports director Sebastian Neumann put the reconstruction in Zschiesche’s hands and never tired of emphasizing one thing: After the blow in Hannover, the team had been completely renewed, Neumann emphasized. Therefore, a comparison with last year’s team, which was able to thrive for a long time and therefore strolled through the regional league before stumbling in the penalty shootout in Hannover in the final meters of the season, is out of the question. Now the first seven games have already been enough to reveal that the Kickers 2024/25 do not actually have the same punch as the Kickers 2023/24.
Many players are said to have been unable to cope with the blunt and clear speeches
The results alone show how often the team has already reached its limits. Türkgücü Munich, who are bottom of the table, picked up one of their two points in the 2:2 draw against the Kickers at the start of the season, Würzburg lost 0:2 in Burghausen, the 1:4 against FC Bayern II was like a lesson, and after the most recent 0:4 against Bayreuth, Zschiesche had also run out of arguments – especially since the Berliner, as we hear, repeatedly irritated the players with his direct manner.
Because many people were apparently unable to cope with the blunt and clear speeches, the Kickers had little choice but to use the autumn mechanism. Zschiesche’s support in the dressing room had dwindled and the mood was bad. Neumann, who is now taking over as interim coach, is also aware of “the difficulty of the tasks ahead,” says CEO André Herber – but Neumann is stepping in “at his request in this difficult moment.”
It sounds as if coach Sebastian Neumann wants to save sporting director Sebastian Neumann by showing what can be achieved with the squad he has put together – but the management team has also raised its antennas to find a permanent solution for Zschiesche’s successor. However, it is already clear that it will be a herculean task to bring the season to a good end even if those responsible make the right decision when choosing a coach.
So it’s going to be a pretty turbulent autumn at Dallenberg. Once again, it has to be said. One of the few who didn’t have to leave in September, October or November was Bernd Hollerbach. But Bernd Hollerbach doesn’t count, of course. He had an excellent relationship with Würzburg’s sports director. He happened to be – the football world is small: Bernd Hollerbach.