Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach has released coach Gerardo Seoane with immediate effect. U23 coach Eugen Polanski initially takes over.
One point from three games, not a single goal: just 22 hours after the home debacle against Werder Bremen (0: 4), the bosses of Borussia Mönchengladbach reacts and coach Gerardo Seoane. In the end, the arguments went out of the Swiss, Gladbach has been waiting for a win for ten encounters.
“After an intensive review of our start of the season, we came to the conclusion that we have to make a change in the position of head coach,” said Gladbach’s sports manager Roland Virkus: “After ten Bundesliga games without victory, faith has disappeared that the change with Gerardo can succeed.”
Hours long crisis session
The bosses had held a crisis session lasting several hours before the announcement. In the morning, Seoane had headed the Gladbacher training. U23 coach Eugen Polanski will look after the foal eleven in the upcoming tasks.
The starting program for the new trainer has it all: On Sunday it goes to Bayer Leverkusen, then Eintracht Frankfurt comes to the Borussia Park. The earliest coaching of the club history was preceded by a bad start to the season. The balance was worse than in this season in 58 years Bundesliga Only in the 2015/16 season (0 points, 2: 8 goals).
Criticism and more intense
Already after the zero number at the start of the season in Borussia-Park at home against Hamburger SV and the subsequent 0: 1 at VfB Stuttgart, there was plenty of criticism. The bitter bankruptcy against Bremen finally sealed Seoanes’ fate, who was the longest coach in the Bundesliga with his term of two years after two years after Frank Schmidt (1. FC Heidenheim) and Sebastian Hoeneß (VfB Stuttgart).
“I am deeply disappointed. It is difficult to explain, I have to honestly say that,” Virkus said in the late Sunday evening. Gladbach’s highest home defeat Since December 5, 2021, the 58-year-old wanted to let sag and sleep “one night”. After all, it was his task to “discuss the whole thing factually”.
Credit from the fans
Virkus had won Seoane in the summer of 2023 as the successor to Daniel Farke. The premiere season under the new trainer ended in 14th place, most recently Gladbach made it tenth. The foals were a good distance from the desired European Cup participation, Seoane achieved a point cut of just 1.13 points in his 71 league games.
That is why Seoane had consumed his loan at the fans. While in recent years even after bad bankruptcy, encouraging applause from the north curve was always heard, the team was welcomed on Sunday at the mandatory farewell of the appendix with ghostly silence. At the final whistle there had been a short but loud whistle concert.
Virkus also criticized
“Gerardo took over the team in a difficult situation, went on the path of the club, pushed the team’s development process and stabilized it,” club president Rainer Bonhof is quoted in the message: “However, the end of the season was not the way we imagined and the start of this season is also not. The step to set a new impulse is the right one.”
Virkus is far from being inviolable in Gladbach. Nils-Ole Book could soon be provided to him, who most recently worked successfully as sports director of second division club SV Elversberg. The name Book has been haunting through the Borussia Park for days, and Virkus had (unsuccessfully) tried a similar double tip with Nils Schmadtke. However, he still has the sole sporting power.
Our sources:
- Sports information service SID
- dpa
