Big challenge: Jörg Schmadtke becomes the new sporting director of Liverpool FC. This was confirmed by the club from the English Premier League.
The long-time Bundesliga manager takes over the post at Jürgen Klopp’s club on June 1st.
The 59-year-old Schmadtke last worked from July 2018 to January 2023 as sporting director of VfL Wolfsburg before actually declaring his long managerial career to be over. “I’ve been doing this for so long now and I’ve decided it’s time to close this chapter‘ he said in farewell.’There are other things in life I want to do. I’m thinking first and foremost of my wife and my family, who had to put things back for many years.”
Schmadtke succeeds Julian Ward
Before his time in Wolfsburg, Schmadtke worked for 1. FC Köln, Hannover 96 and Alemannia Aachen. He led all clubs into an international competition, but he has never worked for a big top club like nine-time European Cup winners and 19-time English champions Liverpool FC.
At the LFC, the previous sports director Julian Ward announced his departure at the end of the season last November. Since then, the “Reds” have been looking for a successor. Klopp and Schmadtke may not have worked together at a club before, but they respect each other personally. “For me he is a great personality“Klopp told the “Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung” in January about Schmadtke.