Schlagwort-Archiv: New manager

Changes…

Since I last wrote, there have been some changes at 1. FC Magdeburg. Following the draw against Babelsberg, the team went into a steady decline, losing three out of four games, among them the important derby against Hallescher FC. Following a 0-3 defeat to Wolfsburg’s reserves at home, the 1. FC Magdeburg board decided to draw the line and sacked manager Paul Linz. The new manager would be former player Steffen Baumgart. this move was somewhat surprising, seeing as how Baumgart has no experience managing a team.

Nevertheless, the board are convinced he is the right man.
His first match was the 2nd round of the Saxony-Anhalt-Cup against Germania Halberstadt’s reserves – with all their players coming from the first team. Magdeburg won the match 2-0, but there was not much change visible in their play, aside from a marked improvement in attitude. On Thursday this week, Magdeburg play the cup quarter-final against fellow Magdeburg side MSV Preußen. Kick-off is at 6 pm, a time that necessitates a clear performance by the team, as dusk sets in around 8 and extra time could certainly not be completed before dark.

Look at that, FA!

Within 48 hours of Dirk Heyne’s dismissal, FC Magdeburg have presented his successor as manager: Paul Linz.
Linz is a former forward and has played 33 Bundesliga matches and 233 matches in Bundesliga 2. Among others, he played for Werder Bremen and Waldhof Mannheim, scoring 115 career goals. After his playing days were over, he managed several clubs, most successfully Eintracht Trier which he guided back to Bundesliga 2 after a 21-year-absence.
At today’s press conference, Linz stated that while he’d have to see the team before deciding exactly what he’ll do, he wanted to put Magdeburg a lil more into the direction of attacking football. No surprise there, this coming from a former forward who, as he said, „always gets nervous when pushed back“. Linz added that there certainly was something to be done about the dismal performance of the attackers, in terms of winter transfers, he didn’t think the players were quite as bad as their statistics indicate. He indicated that he was not rushing the transfer issue, as he would want to sign quality players.
His contract runs till the end of the season, and if Magdeburg do qualify for the new tier III league, it will be automatically renewed for two more seasons. Thus, FC Magdeburg have solved one out of the three interesting issues in the winterbreak, the remaining two being the new players that have been promised.

Thursday sees a supporters meeting to discuss the new away kit. After the disastrous affair with this season’s orange away kit, the board had announced they’d listen to the fans‘ suggestions and wishes. Ought to be interesting.