Victory slipped out of hand shortly before the end, but on his mission as interim coach, Heiko Butscher scored Bochum’s first point of the season. Will the U19 coach stay longer with the pros?
At first, Heiko Butscher’s words sounded confusing. “You never know what’s going to happen in football,” said the VfL Bochum interim coach after the 1-1 draw against 1. FC Köln when asked if he could no longer be the head coach of the pros: “I’m totally relaxed about it. I take it as it comes.”
But the 42-year-old, who normally coaches VfL U19s, probably didn’t want to formulate an application to take over the Bundesliga team on a permanent basis. But actually only express that he would help out beyond this one game if that is necessary. “It has been clearly agreed that we will do this until the club makes a decision and a successor is found,” he said. He “was really happy to help out”, but also “fun with the U19s”.
But because after six defeats in the first six games under the suspended Thomas Reis only a goal in the 88th minute by Linton Maina prevented the first win, Butscher has apparently also become a real option for some players. “Who comes or whether Heiko continues is in the stars,” said Gerrit Holtmann: “He did it pretty well. He set us up well and turned the right screws.”
Zoller: “We want a good coach who is up for it”
Simon Zoller made a similar statement. “You could see today that Heiko did well,” said the striker: “Because he knew a few guys and has been at the club for ten years. The fact that we had clear processes helped us in this complicated week.” He did not express any wishes regarding the new coach. “In the end we want a good coach who is willing to work with us.”
Almost every name that is freely available on the market has been mentioned on the rumor exchange, from Uwe Neuhaus to Dimitrios Grammozis to Hannes Wolf, from Alexander Zorniger to Markus Gisdol to Markus Weinzierl and Achim Beierlorzer. How concrete that is is open. Nothing has leaked out of concrete negotiations. Managing Director Patrick Fabian has at least admitted to “initial talks” with candidates.
One thing is clear for Zoller: Despite only one point from seven games, the newcomer would not take on a hopeless case. “It’s not like we’re eleven points behind,” he said: “He’s four points. But if we continue to perform like we did against Cologne, then I’m sure we’ll get our points.”
Source: Stern
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