Unrest after another crash
©IMAGO
Despite the sporting crisis and the associated unrest in the club, 1. FC Magdeburg continues to rely on Petrik Sander. “There is no coaching discussion,” said sports director Otmar Schork on Monday. After just one win from the last six games, the FCM fell back into a relegation zone. With 23 points from 24 games, the Elbstadt team is level with bottom team Greuther Fürth.
Sander initially took over as interim successor to the hapless Markus Fiedler at FCM in October and was promoted to head coach after seven points from four games. With 13 more points, he initially led the lagging Magdeburg team out of the endangered zone, but now the development has stalled.
“We have complete confidence in our team around Petrik Sander and Pascal Ibold. The collaboration with the team works, which was also shown in the first half of the season when we got ten points from the last four games. This phase was not a coincidence, but the result of good and trusting cooperation. Right now, more than ever, we need everyone’s solidarity, which has also made us strong in the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons – despite “We got back up again after a 7-0 defeat against KSC,” added Schork. Next Friday (6:30 p.m.) the Magdeburgers will play against promotion hopefuls SV Elversberg.
“After our win at Greuther Fürth, we recently suffered three painful defeats in a row – against Bielefeld, Schalke 04 and Karlsruher SC. These results have also brought us into the current situation in the table, in which we have now slipped to second-to-last place. The large number of goals conceded is particularly worrying for us – this is where we have to apply the leverage and improve our content,” explained Schork. With 47 goals conceded, the FCM has the second-worst defense in the league, and no team conceded more goals in the second half of the season.
The offensive, however, has improved significantly, not least thanks to Mateusz Zukowski (24) returning from injury. The FCM scored 14 goals in the new year, only third-placed SV Darmstadt 98 (16) was even more dangerous. “The league is extremely balanced, and the table also shows the small difference in points, where eight teams are currently close together, so that with one or two wins the situation will quickly change again,” said Schork optimistically.
However, the unrest in the Magdeburg community is not decreasing. “The overall sporting responsibility lies in my hands. It is therefore necessary to deal with it even in difficult phases. The media landscape also singles out individuals – depending on the sporting situation – and hypes them or condemns them accordingly,” the sports director justified himself. The association then criticized a report by “People’s voice“ from February, according to which defense chief Jean Hugonet (26) wants to pursue his dream of the Bundesliga and leave the FCM for free in the summer.
1. FC Magdeburg rejects speculation about Hugonet
The club said that “untrue allegations were spread”. Hugonet was never in Milan to visit the San Siro. Private stadium visits to cities such as Berlin, Leipzig, Wolfsburg, Hanover or Zwickau would also have no connection with transfer rumors or intentions to change. In addition, Hugonet has not yet made a decision about its future. The Frenchman has never commented on the allegations made and to date there is no desire from the player to change, no initiative to do so and no inquiries from other clubs.
“We emphatically reject the recently circulated statements. It is in no way acceptable that our player is discredited by baseless and speculative allegations. The relevant statements are speculative and have no factual basis. 1. FC Magdeburg expressly distances itself from such speculations surrounding its player Jean Hugonet,” it continued.
