Two games before the end of the season, Bayer Leverkusen tries its luck with a new coach. Thomas Hörster, who was without luck though still having better stats than Klaus Toppmöller, said to be without any hope after the 1:4 loss in Hamburg last weekend - a sentence that was his fate. Bayer had a long meeting yesterday evening and today they are going to present Klaus Augenthaler as new coach. Augenthaler was sacked in Nuremberg two games earlier. The spicy aspect about it: Leverkusen last game is in Nuremberg where Augenthaler still is very popular among the fans. Augenthaler signed a contract until 2004. Personally I can't quite understand this decision. A coaching change is okay, that's not the point. But Augenthaler somehow is Hörster's twin brother - same working philosophy, boring appearance, absolutely not able to deal with the media... Don't know if this works. Anyway, Augenthaler's past: Player: FC Bayern Munich only Coach: 91-92 Youth Coach Bayern Munich 92-97 Assistant Coach Bayern Munich 97-00 Head Coach Grazer AK 00-03 Head Coach 1.FC Nuremberg
It's a simple act of desperation. Hoerster essentially gave up and Bayer management still want to give it their best shot to stave off relegation. If Augenthaller fails, then they are in the same position as they would have been under Hoerster (since he gave up). So there is nothing for them to lose and everything to gain.
Act of desperation. I don't think they want Augenthaler for the long haul, but he wouldn't take the job without a longer contract They couldn't keep Hoerster in place any longer.
Agreed. If they relegate, then it would have happened with or without Augenthaler and they can use him as 2.Bundesliga coach. In Bundesliga he would get the chance to prove himself, but in a further crisis he won't have much credit. Can also be seen in the fact that he has a one year contract only with a two years option for Bayer in case that Augenthaler unexpectedly succeeds.
Exactly. Its a No-brainer move, which can only have a reward. I wonder how long Christian Gross' contract is at Basel?
It pains me - pains me - to see what’s becoming of Leverkusen. This is a team that did German soccer proud last year playing some of the best football in all of Europe. The club is responsibly run in terms of finances, was a pleasure to watch at one time and achieved all of that on a shoestring budget compared to the Real Madrids and just about every team in Italy. Bayer is a club that has made good players world-class. I enjoyed a lot of great moments at the BayArena and am very grateful to the club for that. If Bayer were to get relegated, it would be a sad, sad moment for soccer – and for all of us as soccer fans.
The good thing is we have a couple of games left to stay up. I think some of the teams above us are playing each other, so that should open the door for us to make it happen. I'm just glad we have Lucio right now.