VfL Osnabrück relies on Uwe Koschinat in its mission to stay in the league. The second division newcomer announced the signing of the 52-year-old, who most recently worked at Arminia Bielefeld, on Monday morning.
“The challenge we are facing is brutally difficult. There are no two opinions about it. But that is exactly where our motivation lies. Hardly anyone out there trusts us to do anything at the moment,” said Koschinat when signing the contract. He described the upcoming away games at Schalke on Friday (6.30 p.m., in the NDR Livecenter) and at Hertha BSC as well as the home game against St. Pauli as “three absolute hits” and “felt cup games”.
This is how the games should be approached. “During the winter break we have time to really get to know each other, work on the necessary basics and rehearse new processes.”
According to the club, the signing took place on Monday morning at 8:30 a.m. After he introduced himself to the team, he went to the pitch for the first training session at 11 a.m. In the afternoon, the Koblenz native was officially introduced at a press conference.
“We want to attack fully in the second half of the season”
The new coach believes in staying in the league despite the last place and the big gap in the second division table. “I am firmly convinced that the team has significantly more potential than the current points and table situation suggests,” said the 52-year-old at the press conference. “The last two years in Osnabrück have shown that VfL is capable of playing a very, very strong second half of the season. In the last three games before the winter break we want to create a more optimal starting position so that we can then fully attack in the second half of the season .”
Koschinat with experience from 79 second division games
VfL sports director Amir Shapourzadeh explained: “The conversations with Uwe were really good. Julius Ohnesorge, Michael Welling and Holger Elixmann were there. We then looked each other in the eyes and were convinced together that Uwe, with his experience and energy, would be suitable for the team “The right coach is the right person for the current situation.”
“Uwe Koschinat exuded a conviction and motivation that really carried us along. He had no doubts either after the game against Magdeburg or in view of the three difficult games to come. We need this conviction.”
— VfL managing director Michael Welling
Koschinat, who has the experience of 79 second division games, will be given Osnabrück insiders: the previous assistant coaches Martin Heck, who recently took over the head position on an interim basis, and Tim Danneberg will remain at VfL. He is particularly looking forward to the Bremer Bridge – for him the stadium is “pure energy”.
But Koschinat’s new task could hardly be more difficult than in Osnabrück. The purple-whites have only won one of their 14 second division games (2-1 against HSV) and are bottom of the table. Promotion coach Tobias Schweinsteiger had to leave after the 2:3 in Braunschweig. With interim coach Heck, Osnabrück then lost 2-0 against Magdeburg.
However, Koschinat faced a similar challenge in October 2018, when he took over SV Sandhausen as second-to-last in the table. The SVS only had five points after nine match days. In the end, the football teacher led the Sandhäuser to stay in the league in 15th place, even without relegation.
Koschinat convinces VfL despite failure in Bielefeld
The Koblenz Koschinat made a name for himself particularly as a coach at Fortuna Cologne (2011 to 2018) and in Sandhausen (2018 to 2020). However, he only worked briefly at 1. FC Saarbrücken (2021 to 2022) and Arminia Bielefeld.
And his most recent stint with East Westphalia was a clear failure. Signed up as a firefighter in March eleven match days before the end, he was unable to prevent the relegated Bundesliga team from reaching the third division – and then had to vacate the position again. This time Koschinat still has at least 20 games left for a rescue, and further transfers are planned in the winter.
However, VfL managing director Michael Welling emphasized that Koschinat “exuded a conviction and motivation that really carried us along. He had no doubts either after the game against Magdeburg or in view of the three difficult games to come. We need this conviction.”
Many other candidates under discussion
Before Koschinat’s signing, Michael Schiele (most recently at Eintracht Braunschweig) and Pit Reimers were considered top candidates by the HSV second team. According to consistent media reports, there are also said to have been discussions with the 40-year-old from Hamburg, who was named Coach of the Year by the North German Football Association this year after finishing runner-up with HSV II in the Regionalliga Nord.
But the talks led nowhere. This also applied to the traces of Timo Schultz (formerly FC St. Pauli), who was released from FC Basel, and Eugen Polanski (Borussia Mönchengladbach II).
“Amir and Julius presented various candidates with different profiles. Uwe Koschinat brings a lot of parameters that we now need,” said Managing Director Welling.
Interim coach Heck: “Giving up is not an option”
Despite the disappointing performance against Magdeburg, interim coach Heck tried to radiate optimism. “At the moment we are at the bottom. There is only one direction for us. Giving up is not an option,” emphasized the 40-year-old, who probably already suspected on Saturday that his days as boss are numbered: “The team is in the foreground. The boys have to be on the pitch in such a way that they are able to win a game. It’s just not about me right now.”
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Sports current | November 27, 2023 | 11:17 am
