“It’s about the club. It’s about promotion to the second division,” said Dirk Schuster at the beginning of his official presentation at 1. FC Kaiserslautern. Schuster seemed in a good mood and motivated. Schuster answered the journalists’ questions at the club’s press conference in a friendly and detailed manner. Shortly before, Schuster had led his first training session at FCK. The first half hour he was a bit distant as a spectator, then he gave emotional and loud instructions in various forms of play.
“It was a bit tough at the beginning,” says Schuster, describing his first impressions of the training. And it is exactly this “life” that he and his coaching team demanded. Despite the somewhat tough start, the 54-year-old found a team “that came around the corner with a lot of zeal, a lot of vigour, a lot of enthusiasm and, above all, a willingness to learn.”
Goal: Promotion to the 2nd Bundesliga
Dirk Schuster’s goal is clearly formulated: “We want to move up to the second division in these two games”. These two games – these are the relegation games against Dynamo Dresden, which will take place on May 20th and 24th. After four seasons in the 3rd division, FCK could return to the 2nd Bundesliga.
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Due to three defeats in a row at the season finale, the Red Devils missed direct promotion, now the detour via relegation has to be taken. At his first press conference as FCK coach, Dirk Schuster praised the performance of the team and the performance his predecessor Marco Antwerp. “The team played a really good round with their coaching team and Marco Antwerpen,” said Schuster. The team earned third place in the table. “Many teams, exactly 17, would like to swap places with us,” the former KSC professional continued.
Thomas Hengen: “A damn unpopular decision”
Even before Dirk Schuster addressed his first words to media representatives, FCK Managing Director Thomas Hengen gave an insight into the development of the past few days. The release of Marco Antwerpen was a “damn unpopular decision”, but for him it is all about “the success of the club”. Hengen saw this – especially after the team’s performance in the past third division games – in danger.
In a nearly ten-minute statement, Hengen spoke about “turbulent days”, the recent poor performance of the FCK players and the chronology of events up to Dirk Schuster’s commitment. The new coach should now ignite a new fire in the team and lead the club back to the 2nd Bundesliga in the two relegation games against Dresden.
Source: SWR