After the 1:2 defeat against SV Darmstadt, the crisis at FC Augsburg worsens. Sports director Marinko Jurendic avoids making a commitment to Coach Maaßen. Jeffrey Gouweleeuw is surprisingly harsh in his criticism of management.
Immediately after the final whistle, FC Augsburg coach Enrico Maaßen stood up and, with pursed lips, high-fived everyone who was sitting on the FCA bench at the time. Anyone who wants to interpret this scene as the coach’s farewell is being a little hasty. But the 1:2 defeat against SV Darmstadt reveals how deep the FCA is in crisis. Seven Bundesliga games, one win, five points, 15th place. Coupled with the embarrassing cup exit against third division club Unterhaching, the start of the season is now officially a mess.
Jurendic avoids commitment to Maaßen
In the mixed zone it became clear how deeply dismayed the players were about the result and performance. There was sports director Marinko Jurendic, who couldn’t make a commitment to Maaßen: “We will not publicly discuss the personal details of employees, including the head coach,” said Jurendic on Saturday evening after the 1-2 defeat in the Bundesliga. Maaßen will still be the FCA coach at least “tomorrow”.
Those responsible at the Bundesliga club are also aware of their responsibility for the “big picture,” said Jurendic, who has been the sports director in Augsburg since August. And explained: We stand behind our coach and our staff one hundred percent – as long as we work with them.” He also referred to the mechanisms of the football business. “I personally have to let it sink in,” he said and asked after five points from the first seven league games: “The trend is pointing downwards. We are in the red.” Translated: red alert for Enrico Maaßen.
Gouweleeuw: “Those in the background have to question themselves”
Captain Ermedin Demirovic stood protectively in front of his coach and pointed in his own direction when asked who was to blame: “I think it’s just up to us. That’s up to the team. We had a plan, but we didn’t implement it well . We knew exactly what it was about against Darmstadt, a newly promoted team, that they would start the game aggressively. No coach can tell you that, to be aggressive and tough in tackles. That’s entirely up to us.”
However, Jeffrey Gouweleeuw’s finger shot in a completely different direction – directly towards the management team: “If there are problems or discussions at the top, then it goes down, that’s where it starts,” he said about the recent unrest at management level the farewell to long-time manager Stefan Reuter, who now only works in an advisory capacity. His successor Marinko Jurendic drives an Art Nouveau style, which Gouweleeuw harshly criticized. “The fact that you can’t make it in the Bundesliga with just young players and a young coach…” he said and emphasized: “Those in the background have to question themselves. The question is, is the quality enough?”
Maaßen wants to fight for his job
And what does he say whose job is now more acute than ever before in his term of office, which began before last season? Maaßen would like to “continue to give everything I can to be a coach here,” he said at the press conference after the defeat. But he doesn’t really seem to be sure that he can still call this job description his own against FC Heidenheim: “I’m responsible for ensuring that the team plays successful football, that they play respectable football.” Neither was the case against Darmstadt.
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Source: BR24Sport on the radio
October 7, 2023 – 3:30 p.m
