Second division soccer team FC Schalke 04 surprisingly parted ways with technical director André Hechelmann on Wednesday. According to S04 CEO Matthias Tillmann, the decision was simply “consistent,” as he now explained. He also revealed details about the search for a successor.
“The timing may be surprising for many, but for me it is consistent,” Matthias Tillmann is quoted as saying in the “WAZ” with a view to the separation of high-ranking Schalke official André Hechelmann. Because: “Planning for the new season has already begun, important decisions will be made in the coming weeks and months.”
Schalke wanted to “drive forward the plans for the summer with the people who will ultimately be responsible,” so a quick decision was necessary.
The Schalke CEO also revealed that they had been working on a change in the second division team’s sporting management for some time. “André (Hechelmann, editor’s note), Marc (Wilmots) and I sat down at the beginning of the year and said that the full focus should be on the winter transfer phase and that we would then regularly check how things work in the new constellation . As a result, André and we now agreed that with today’s knowledge it makes more sense to go our separate ways.”
FC Schalke 04: “Complete trust” in Marc Wilmots
The traditional club had already announced in its announcement last Wednesday that a successor would be sought in any case. The most recently traded was the former Frankfurt squad planner Ben Manga, who is said to have recently been spotted in the Royal Blues stadium.
Tillmann said: “There is not one profile for the successor, there are several profiles that we have outlined. Now we have to answer a few questions: Who is available, who is interesting for Schalke, what are his ideas – all of that will influence to a certain extent how the role is ultimately defined.”
At the same time, the 40-year-old expressed his “complete confidence” in his sports director Marc Wilmots. “We are well positioned to push forward with short-term issues, especially squad planning.”
It is planned that chief scout Chris Kresse will “take on a larger role” in the future when it comes to squad planning, Tillmann also announced. “We will continue to implement our plan consistently – regardless of the replacement.”