Mislintat does not accept the offer: VfB before a new start

Created: 2022-11-30Updated: 2022-11-30 3:19 p.m

Sven Mislintat.

© David Inderlied/dpa/archive image

The question of whether Sven Mislintat is going or staying has been answered.

The sports director leaves VfB Stuttgart.

The relegation candidate needs solutions for two leadership positions.

What's next?

Sports director Sven Mislintat is gone, the head coach has not yet been found: In the midst of the sporting relegation crisis, the continuity at VfB Stuttgart that was once aspired to is finally over.

With the separation from Mislintat, the Swabian Bundesliga soccer club is facing a far-reaching new beginning and is now looking for a new sports director in addition to the future head coach.

After the stalemate around Mislintat as well as the question of the future of interim coach Michael Wimmer, the central management positions should be filled by the start of training on December 12th, VfB announced on Wednesday.

The talks with Mislintat had dragged on, but a farewell had been in the offing for a long time.

The contract, which ran until June 30, 2023, has now been terminated with immediate effect.

The 50-year-old, once employed by the more glamorous clubs Borussia Dortmund and FC Arsenal, did not accept "an offer that VfB believes is absolutely in line with the market".

"Ending the negotiations now is a joint decision of all those responsible," said CEO Alexander Wehrle.

Wehrle's predecessor Thomas Hitzlsperger had lured Mislintat to VfB in spring 2019.

Mislintat had once formed a successful trio with him and the coach Pellegrino Matarazzo, who was released in October.

Mislintat did not hide the fact that the wide-ranging competencies that Hitzlsperger had allowed him are important to him.

The area of ​​responsibility should now have been a central factor in the fact that the native of Dortmund said goodbye after "several days" of talks with the board of directors and the supervisory board.

According to "Kicker" information, it was crucial that Mislintat insisted on a clause from his previous contract that he had the last word in all sporting matters.

During the negotiations, Mislintat had to put up with the fact that Hanover's sports director Marcus Mann and Greuther Fürth's managing director Rachid Azzouzi were and are being traded as potential successors.

"In our talks we didn't find a common denominator for continuing my work at VfB," Mislintat was quoted as saying: "I very much regret that, because VfB has become a matter close to my heart in recent years and I'd like to keep mine contributed to the positive development of this great club.”

The Swabian team put together by Mislintat has not developed as hoped in recent months after being saved from relegation on the last day of last season.

His transfer policy was recently viewed more critically than Mislintat was used to at VfB for a long time.

Despite the difficult sporting situation, he enjoyed great popularity with many fans.

The relationship with Wehrle, on the other hand, was considered strained since the chairman of the board had broadened the sporting area without consultation and brought in the former world champions Sami Khedira and Philipp Lahm as advisors.

Former VfB captain Christian Gentner is scheduled to start on January 1, 2023 as head of the licensed player department.

As it is now in Table-16.

goes on?

The announcement of being able to present a new coach and a sports director in less than two weeks can also be interpreted as meaning that the club has already dealt intensively with the succession plan.

Time is running out.

A good seven weeks ago, Matarazzo stumbled upon the fact that VfB had to wait longer than ever for their first win this season.

Interim coach Michael Wimmer took over for six Bundesliga games before the World Cup break, including three home games, and is now one of the candidates.

The clubless Jess Thorup and Alfred Schreuder from Ajax Amsterdam were also traded early.

There was also recent speculation about a possible return from Bruno Labbadia on the pay-TV broadcaster Sky.

dpa