René Klingenburg moved from Viktoria Köln to 1. FC Kaiserslautern in 2021, where he quickly rose to become a top performer and fan favourite. At the end of a successful debut season in Lautern there was promotion to league two – and a momentous change of coach that catapulted Klingeburg completely offside.
“FCK and René Klingenburg have terminated the existing contract by mutual agreement and with immediate effect. We wish Klinge and his family all the best for the future and thank them for their commitment to FCK,” said 1. FC Kaiserslautern as they said goodbye Mid-March 2023 René Klingenburg, who for his part also found more critical words, but stated that he needed a change as a result of a break-in into his house. Now it is clear that the situation of the midfielder in the club was no longer bearable.
“I have felt firsthand how basic values such as respect and loyalty are trampled on. Someone comes and changes your life and that of your family due to personal sensitivities,” Klingenburg finds very clearly in an interview with “Sport1”.
“Betrayed by their own captain”
When asked, the player, who once played in the FC Schalke 04 Knappenschmiede, explained that he was referring to Lautern coach Dirk Schuster with his statement.
Schuster surprisingly took over the post in May 2022, although his predecessor Marco Antwerp had led the Red Devils to relegation to the 2nd Bundesliga. Although this was also won with Schuster, Klingenburg, who previously expressed his displeasure at Antwerp’s dismissal, suddenly played no role at all.
“I realized relatively quickly that my loyalty to the old coach was a problem,” explains the 29-year-old in this context. However, the fact that he was not simply poured pure wine in the summer makes the native of Oberhausen launch a verbal sweeping attack.
“Respect for each other has been completely lost in football. Shaving people behind their backs has nothing to do with respect,” Klingenburg attacked the Lautern leadership and spoke of “lies and intrigues” and of being betrayed by his “own captain ” to have become
“Showing others poorly so that you are in the limelight yourself” is typical for the “shark tank” of professional football and “normal” when dealing with young talents, but as a leading player he “simply expects respectful cooperation,” said Klingenburg.
However, the criticism is expressly directed only at people, and Klingenburg would have been only too happy to remain loyal to the club itself. “It just worked. I know that you have to work hard to be successful, especially in difficult times. The club is crazy, Betze is a fortress again. The people gave me an incredible amount,” he says, summing up his time Betzenberg.