Things are bubbling at FC St. Pauli after coach Timo Schultz was on leave. Many fans vent their displeasure. Training started on Friday – led by the previous assistant Fabian Hürzeler.
While the players of most second division clubs are still on vacation or training almost unnoticed by the public, FC St. Pauli is in turmoil. The separation of coach Timo Schultz, which was surprising and incomprehensible to many fans, caused discussions – and loud criticism of sports director Andreas Bornemann.
At the start of training after a long break, Schultz was omnipresent on Friday, even if he wasn’t on the pitch, of course. Hürzeler led the unit.
“School must stay”: 9,000 join the petition
But apart from the players, no one was interested in the forms of training. There is hardly anyone among the fans who approves of the separation from Schultz. In an online petition (“Schulle must stay”), almost 9,000 people spoke out in favor of the coach who was fired.
“The disappointment and anger were very, very great,” said Stefan Kasper-Behrs, initiator of the petition, in an interview with NDR: “You had to do something because everyone is annoyed and angry.” There are hardly any doubts about Schultz’s work among the fans, but there is a clear position on the head of sport: “The majority think that Bornemann has to go.”
General meeting could be turbulent
The annual general meeting on December 17 is likely to be emotional. Or as Kasper-Behrs puts it: “By the 17th at the latest it will be pretty loud.” It is possible that the members there are clearly expressing their displeasure by refusing to give discharge to the Presidium.
It’s rumbling at FC St. Pauli – and not just because of the separation from Schultz. There have been rumors about atmospheric upsets within the office and the committees for months. Bornemann’s behavior when some players said goodbye in the summer also caused resentment among several affected players and many fans.
St. Pauli makes too little of its opportunities
And if President Oke Göttlich and Bornemann invoke the performance principle in professional sports to justify Schultz’s dismissal, the same question must be asked of them. What decisive progress has FC St. Pauli made in recent years?
In the past five years, the club has averaged 47 points per season and finished tenth. That is staid mediocrity and far below the possibilities of Hamburg compared to the second division competition.
What applies to HSV to a much greater extent also applies to St. Pauli: If teams like Fürth, Paderborn, Heidenheim, Darmstadt and Co. regularly play for promotion or even make it, then this must be in view of the financial and structural possibilities also be feasible for the Kiezkicker.
Hürzeler has ambitions to remain head coach
But this season, once again, it’s all about damage control. It is still unclear who will be responsible for this as the new coach in the second half of the season.
Hürzeler could certainly imagine not just being an interim solution. “I want to make a name for myself with my professional work on the pitch. But whether I can continue to be the head coach is not within my control,” said Hürzeler after training on Friday: “I’m not going to play the big zampano now and will upset everything. “
He obviously wants to lead St. Pauli as boss in the second half of the season. But whether he will be decided by sports director Bornemann.
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Hamburg Journal | 09.12.2022 | 19:30 o’clock
