The SSV Ulm 1846 cannot calm down. After the series of defeats in the 3rd league, captains Jo Reichert and Christian Ortag caused a stir with an open letter to the supervisory board. Now the club reacted by dismissing the sports director and the coach.
Late on Monday evening, SSV Ulm 1846 Football responded with a bang to the sporting crisis and the sensational fire letter from the two leading players Jo Reichert and Christian Ortag: In addition to managing director and sports director Markus Thiele, head coach Moritz Glasbrenner also had to take his hat off. Both were relieved of their duties by the club’s management with immediate effect.
“Consensual Separation”
The management came to this decision after hours of deliberations: “The discussions were conducted in an open and respectful exchange, but no longer led to the unity and mutual trust necessary for a successful sporting future,” says SSV 1846 Fußball on its homepage. Both sides had “agreed on an amicable and fair separation.”
There is no information yet about the successor to Thiele and Glasbrenner; the club wants to provide information about this in the next few days.
Sporty crash and bad mood
In terms of sport, the decline of SSV Ulm in 1846 was dramatic. After relegation from the 2nd Bundesliga The Swabians are also in a relegation zone in the 3rd league. Most recently there were five defeats in a row with 19 goals conceded. The 0:5 on Saturday in the home game against Hansa Rostock was the temporary low point of the crisis.
SSV captains Johannes Reichert and Christian Ortag pointed out in an open letter to the club’s supervisory board one day after the home defeat against Rostock that the situation on the Danube was also extremely worrying between people and that the inner life of the Ulm footballers was apparently permanently disturbed. The actually internal letter became known to various media and thus also to the public on Sunday evening.
“Atmosphere poisoned, trust destroyed”
The letter stated that the situation within the team had “now become unbearable. The atmosphere is poisoned and trust is destroyed.” The relationship between the team, coach and “especially the sports director is completely broken.” The players are “at the end of their strength – mentally, emotionally and humanly”. Those responsible were not named; the coach and sports director were Moritz Glasbrenner and Markus Thiele, who have now been fired.
Appeal and request for a new beginning in sport
In their appeal, Johannes Reichert and Christian Ortag urgently asked the supervisory board for support and “a completely new beginning in the sporting area”. According to information from SWR Sport, the letter is said to have been formulated without consultation with the entire team.
One day after writing, the personnel consequences actually followed with the separation of Markus Thiele, in office since 2021, and Moritz Glasbrenner, who was only appointed head coach a few weeks ago as the successor to Robert Lechleiter.
Ulm falls back into the Fourth class?
The former Ulm football fairytale – the club managed to move from the regional league to the 2nd Bundesliga between 2023 and 2024 – is threatening to become more and more of a nightmare. After immediate relegation to the third division, SSV 1846 is now on the verge of falling back into the fourth division.
Now it is up to those responsible for sports in the future to throw in the lifeline. Whoever it is, it will be a difficult task on the Danube.
Broadcast on Tuesday, November 11th, 2025 6:00 a.m., SWR Aktuell in the morning, SWR Aktuell
