At 70 years old
©IMAGO
Friedhelm Funkel is back on the coaching bench and takes over the relegation-threatened second division team 1. FC Kaiserslautern. The 70-year-old succeeded Dimitrios Grammozis on Wednesday, who was released on the same day and had to leave after just eight games in office. Funkel is celebrating his comeback in business at FCK after a break of more than two and a half years: Most recently, he coached 1. FC Köln in the second half of the 2020/21 season and secured their stay in the Bundesliga via relegation.
For Funkel, FCK is the eleventh club in German professional football where he has only worked in the first and second leagues. He takes over the “Red Devils” in 16th place in the table and with just one win in the league since the end of October. There are at least 14 games left until the end of the season, including the semi-finals in the DFB Cup against 1. FC Saarbrücken or Borussia Mönchengladbach.
In Cologne in 2021, Funkel was brought in for the last six games of the season – two more followed in the relegation, in which they defeated second division club Holstein Kiel. Originally, there was talk of an end to his career before joining FC, but Funkel was drawn to the cathedral city and recently even indicated that he wanted to take on a job as a coach again. Now Kaiserslautern, which he already knows from his time as a player: At FCK between 1980 and 1983 he played 89 games and scored 33 goals.
To home page