According to the media, Peter Zeidler will be the new head coach at VfL Bochum and is expected to keep VfL in the league next season after a successful relegation. A sports director is still being sought.
VfL Bochum has signed Peter Zeidler as its new head coach. This is reported by the “Bild” newspaper. According to the report, the 61-year-old signed a two-year contract plus an option with the Bundesliga club, which sensationally saved itself from relegation last Monday.
Zeidler is already the fourth Bochum coach since the promotion in 2021. In Bochum, he replaces the previous interim coach Heiko Butscher, who took over the team both after the separation from Thomas Reis in September 2022 and after the leave of absence of Reis’ successor Thomas Letsch in early April 2024 and is returning to the second row. The former central defender Butscher, who has worked as a youth coach and temporarily as assistant coach of the professionals in Bochum since the end of his career in 2015, will coach the VfL U23 team, which will start again in the summer, and will head the youth center.
Zeidler previously worked in the Bundesliga between 2008 and 2011 as Ralf Rangnick’s assistant coach at TSG Hoffenheim, and since 2018 the 61-year-old has coached the Swiss first division club FC St. Gallen. He had a successful football career at this relatively small club with limited financial resources. Apparently VfL does not have to pay a transfer fee, even though his contract there ran until 2027.
Numerous departures confirmed: Zeidler must build a new team
Zeidler has to organize a shake-up in the team in Bochum. Despite staying in the league in the relegation match against Fortuna Düsseldorf, when Bochum made up for a 0-3 first leg defeat in the second leg and won on penalties, there will be some notable departures from VfL.
The move of midfield engine Patrick Osterhage to SC Freiburg is a done deal. Playmaker Kevin Stöger and the fast winger Takuma Asano will also be leaving the club. Defence boss Keven Schlotterbeck is only on loan from Freiburg, and goalkeeper Andreas Luthe is ending his career. A return of regular goalkeeper Manuel Riemann to the squad seems unlikely after his release before the two decisive relegation games.
Now that the search for a new coach has ended just a few days after the relegation victory, a new sports director is still being sought. Patrick Fabian, who was with the club for a total of 24 years as a youth player, professional and ultimately as manager, announced on Wednesday that he was resigning from his contract, which runs until June 2025. It is still unclear who will be his successor, and thus the boss of new coach Zeidler.
Source: Stern
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