Augsburg have announced that they have sacked manager Enrico Maaßen after Saturday’s loss to Darmstadt left the club with two wins in 18 games.
On the decision to sack Maaßen, Augsburg sporting director Marinko Jurendic said: “After the first seven games of the season and the home defeat against Darmstadt, we took the necessary time to shed light on the current sporting situation and the developments of our team. After open discussions with Enrico Maaßen, we have come to the conclusion that we have to make a change in the position of head coach. Unfortunately, despite great commitment and intensive work, Enno and the team have not been able to break the trend and successfully bring the desired development to the pitch.”
Maaßen took charge at the beginning of last season but after the World Cup, the team dramatically declined in form and performances and only just survived relegation on the final day of the season. Despite incomings in the summer, the new signings have currently failed to improve the team.
Augsburg currently finds themselves in 15th only one point clear of the relegation places and have only won one game this season, which was a 2-1 win against currently winless Mainz.
Under-23 coach Tobias Strobl will take charge of Augsburg until they are able to find a replacement for the departed Maaßen. Sky Germany reports that former Hoffenheim coach André Breitenreiter is a candidate to replace Maaßen as the manager had previously worked with Jurendic at Zurich.
Another alternative is former Germany under-21 coach Stefan Kuntz who was recently sacked as Turkey manager.
GGFN | Jack Meenan
