Successor with Buli experience?
K’lautern unexpectedly throws Schuster out the door
November 30, 2023, 11:51 a.m
In May 2022, Dirk Schuster will take over 1. FC Kaiserslautern shortly before relegation, will be promoted to the 2nd league with the traditional football club and will confidently hold the league there. After five games without a win, the 55-year-old now has to leave. A successor is apparently already ready.
Second division football team 1. FC Kaiserslautern has surprisingly parted ways with coach Dirk Schuster. The club leadership of the four-time champions around managing director Thomas Hengen reacted quickly to the recent sporting decline. The Palatinate team only got one point from the last five league games. Schuster took over the position in May 2022 and led the Red Devils into the 2nd Bundesliga shortly afterwards.
“After a second half of last season that was unsatisfactory in terms of results, the team was able to start a positive series in the first third of the season, but overall the trends show an unsatisfactory development, so those responsible have decided to take this step,” said the club a short message. Like the 55-year-old, his assistant Sascha Franz was also relieved of his duties.
Despite the recent negative series, the coaching earthquake in the Palatinate had not become apparent, at least publicly. The hot candidate for the vacant position is Michael Wimmer, who is under contract with Austria Vienna and with whom the FCK is already in contact, according to information from “Kicker”. Accordingly, those responsible are already negotiating with the former interim coach of the Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart. Wimmer was employed there as an assistant coach from 2019, was promoted to interim coach in October 2022 and was replaced by Bruno Labbadia after seven competitive games.
Schuster was hired as Marco Antwerp’s successor at the end of the 2021/22 third division season – immediately before the ultimately successful promotion relegation against Dynamo Dresden. Last season he led the FCK to ninth place as a promoted team. In the current season, Kaiserslautern is currently in eleventh place with 18 points. Apparently Schuster and Hengen haven’t been on the same wavelength for weeks.