After six games, there is already the second dismissal in the Bundesliga. Now it hit Thomas Reis from the still pointless VfL Bochum.
The club announced the separation on Monday afternoon (09/12/2022). Heiko Butscher, coach of the Bochum U19s, will take over Reis’ duties on an interim basis, according to a club statement.
Two days after the defeat at FC Schalke 04 (1: 3), VfL reacted and released the 48-year-old Reis, who took over as coach in September 2019, and his assistant Markus Gellhaus.
Eddy about Schalke flirt
There had been discussions about Reis for a long time because he is said to have rejected a contract extension and instead favored a move to Schalke.
Patrick Fabian, sporting director at VfL Bochum 1848, is quoted in the statement: “It should be clear to everyone that this decision is not easy for us. Thomas Reis has a connection to the club and the city that goes beyond the successful past three years.”
But it is also true, according to Fabian, who only recently replaced Sebastian Schindzielorz, “that there were efforts before the season to continue working together. Since the contract negotiations were increasingly affecting public perception, we decided together with the coach to stop them adjourn and communicate it afterwards.”
After another disappointment on Saturday, the former left-back was still fighting. “I want to knock the buck with the team. I don’t see that I lost the team. I think you can do it with me too“, said Reis. His superiors now saw things differently and reacted.
Looking for a new head coach
“It was clearly discussed with Heiko Butscher that he would help us in the current situation and support us until the new head coach was chosen,” explained Fabian during a media round on Monday. “Of course the goal is to find a successor as quickly as possible.”
There is already a clear profile for the Reis successor: “This is not the classic firefighter. Not one who is completely new to the business. We want to achieve the turnaround together.”
Frank Heinemann, already an assistant under Reis, and Marc-André Kruska will support the interim coach Butscher. Kruska works as Butscher’s assistant coach in the U19s and will be primarily responsible for looking after the junior selection in the coming days.