Thomas Letsch is the new coach of VfL Bochum and the next Bundesliga coach who has its origins in the “Red Bull cosmos”. The people in charge promise a lot.
Anyone who was looking for a new coach in the Bundesliga in recent years often looked at the lists from RB Salzburg or RB Leipzig. Because the counter-pressing style has become en vogue, many clubs have longed for it.
Adi Hütter (formerly Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Mönchengladbach) came to the Bundesliga via the Youngs Boys Bern as a former Salzburg coach as an RB product, as did today’s Frankfurt coach Oliver Glasner. Marco Rose (at RB Leipzig for a few weeks) also made a name for himself in Salzburg and was guided from Mönchengladbach to the Bundesliga, and ex-Hoffenheim coach Sebastian Hoeneß also started his career as a youth coach at RB Leipzig.
Creating the turnaround and developing talent in the process
All of the coaches mentioned had at least some success with the style that the teams from Salzburg and Leipzig have shaped in recent years. And so VfL Bochum also decided to rely on this philosophy. With Thomas Letsch, the Bundesliga bottom has now decided to sign a man from the RB forge.
From 2012 to 2017 he held various positions in Salzburg and its offshoot FC Liefering, most of the time he was head coach in Liefering. The club that is supposed to develop Salzburg’s talents. “In his previous positions, he has always promoted the further development of talented players. We are confident that, as a very communicative coach, he will be able to give the team new impetus and thus achieve the turnaround together with the entire team, the staff and the support of the fans create”, is therefore the hope and expectation of VfL sporting director Patrick Fabian.
Letsch is particularly familiar with the upper regions of the table
According to Fabian, Letsch “has the necessary experience in professional football and is able to form a team with a clear structure and game idea”. So far, this experience has only partially included the fight against relegation. His worst placement of the season as a coach was a tenth place with SG Sonnenhof-Großaspach in the 2007/08 season in the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg.
Letsch always led his teams into the top group of the respective league. A year after tenth place he became Oberliga champion with Sonnenhof-Großaspach, with Liefering he finished fourth and second in the Austrian second division, later with Austria Vienna seventh and third in the Bundesliga, most recently with Vitesse Arnheim fourth and sixth.
New way of playing to surprise the opponents
Bochum will be a completely new task for the 54-year-old, who is used to success. But one in which he should follow through with his concept. Under his predecessor Thomas Reis, VfL was successful with defensive play and many long balls in the previous season, this season it was too easy to shine for a second year. That’s why Reis had to go after five games without scoring.
“We are delighted that Thomas Letsch has decided to join VfL and use his professional expertise to help put the team on course to stay up,” said CEO Hans-Peter Vilis. And the club also relies on the RB effect for this.
