Successor to Stefan Leitl
Hannover presents trainers: old acquaintance returns
Updated 12/29/2024 – 12:39 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
It was only on Sunday that Hannover 96 announced the dismissal of coach Stefan Leitl. His successor is quite familiar to the club’s supporters.
André Breitenreiter is taking over as head coach at second division team Hannover 96. The club announced this on Sunday just a short time after the dismissal of previous trainer Stefan Leitl. Breitenreiter is starting his second term as 96 coach, having coached the club from the Lower Saxony capital from 2017 to 2019. His first term in office included, among other things, promotion to the Bundesliga – a goal that he should now achieve again. He brings Thomas Kleine with him as an assistant coach.
“Everyone knows about my special connection to Hannover 96,” Breitenreiter is quoted as saying in a statement from the club. “I am a Hanoverian – as a player and as a coach I have experienced many unforgettable moments with the club. I take on this task with respect, but also with the great conviction that we can play a very successful second half of the season together,” continued Breitenreiter.
Hannover sports director Marcus Mann says: “André has proven several times in his career that he can lead a team consistently, stably and successfully through a season at a high level of performance – especially in the decisive games.” Breitenreiter knows the club very well, has followed all the games of the current season and won’t need a long time to get used to it. “We want to tackle the great opportunity that Hannover 96 has in the second half of the season together with André,” said Mann.
Breitenreiter succeeds Stefan Leitl, whose dismissal after two and a half years as head coach was announced on Sunday morning. Hannover is currently in seventh place in the 2nd Bundesliga with 27 points. The Hanoverians are only two points behind a direct promotion place. Leitl’s dismissal was justified by the team’s lack of consistency.
Breitenreiter was already active as a player for Hannover 96 and won the DFB Cup with the club in 1992. As a coach, he was able to celebrate promotion to the Bundesliga with SC Paderborn and Hanover, among others, and win the Swiss championship with FC Zurich. Breitenreiter was recently discussed as the successor to the dismissed Bo Svensson at Bundesliga club Union Berlin.