FC Augsburg has to look for a new coach, coach Markus Weinzierl is leaving the club in the summer. A late goal by Michael Gregoritsch at least gave Augsburg the longed-for home win in the Bundesliga final.
Coach Markus Weinzierl is leaving FC Augsburg. The coach of the Bundesliga soccer club announced this decision after the last Bundesliga game against SpVgg Greuther Fürth (2-1) on the Sky TV channel. That was his “last game”, said the 47-year-old on Saturday. For him it was the “right decision”.
Weinzierl informed the team of his move shortly after the final whistle. Players should be the first to know. Weinzierl pointed out that there had been no talks with the club about his future.
When asked if he had already informed Reuter Manager Stefan Reuter, Weinzierl said: “No, but he will already notice that.” The coach showed clear cracks in the relationship. “It wasn’t planned that way,” said Weinzierl. “My heart hurts too.” He would have liked to have stayed in Augsburg for a long time.
You have to “put everything to the test” and also “question every position”, Weinzierl announced on Thursday. There have been no talks about extending his contract “up to now”. In the “next week” Weinzierl and FC Augsburg wanted to talk about the future.
“I also have one or two questions that are then decisive,” said Weinzierl and gave examples: “What does the club want to achieve? What are the goals? What are the requirements?” Playing constantly against relegation is not enough for the Straubinger.
“It is clear that you want more. That it is always the task to finish above your budget, above your means,” explained Weinzierl, who has been in charge of FC Augsburg since April 2021 in his second term. And even during his first time the relationship with Reuter was not without problems.
Augsburg Joker Michael Gregoritsch had previously denied the Fürthern the last small farewell gift from the Bundesliga. The Austrian gave the already rescued FCA a flattering home win. Without their coach Stefan Leitl, who was suffering from the corona virus, the Franconians missed the longed-for first away win of the season at 1: 2 (1: 1).
Daniel Caligiuri gave Augsburg the lead with a penalty kick in the 11th minute. It was the standard specialist’s 50th Bundesliga goal. Jessic Ngankam (24th) made the bottom of the table, looked after by Leitl’s assistant Andre Mijatovic, cheer with his second goal in a row in front of 27,907 spectators. In a duel that was at odds after the change, substitute Gregoritsch (84th) shot the Augsburg fans home luck late.
Weinzierl took a lot of time before kick-off to soak up the atmosphere in the stadium. The former Schalke coach greeted the referees, chatted with his players on the pitch and kept looking around the arena. Talks with the club were originally scheduled for next week. According to reports, both sides were unsure whether they wanted to continue working together.
A personal question at the Franks was clarified with the kick-off. Goalkeeper Sascha Burchert was once again rewarded with a mission. The 32-year-old keeper, whose contract is expiring, started the season as number one. In mid-February, however, he was replaced by the Swede Andreas Linde, who now had to go to the bench.
Burchert had no chance when he was behind – even if he dived into the right corner. At first, Fürth couldn’t get out of the defensive, Augsburg put a lot of pressure on.
An energetic follow-up brought the surprising compensation. Captain Branimir Hrgota poked viciously at Niklas Dorsch, Tobias Raschl immediately passed the ball on to Ngankam. The loan from Hertha BSC ended without frills from 16 meters.
Augsburg’s goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz was an eye-catcher, for whom the emergency services did not arrive quickly enough. In an aerial duel, Ngankam and Dorsch butted heads. The man from Augsburg landed unhappily with his left shoulder hard on the grass and lay down.
It took Gikiewicz too long for the paramedics to get onto the lawn with the stretcher. So the Pole himself ran to the rescue workers, took the frame from them and rushed to his stricken teammate. Gikiewicz also helped lift the midfielder onto the stretcher. Dorsch broke his collarbone and had to be replaced by Carlos Gruezo in the 39th minute.
Pyrotechnics were set off in the Augsburg fan block after the restart. Referee Tobias Reichel only briefly interrupted the game due to poor visibility before the clouds of fog had cleared again.
Mijatovic followed the action with his hands in his pockets, looking calm. In the nervous second half, the game shares were largely balanced. Gregoritsch made the small difference in the end.
Soccer, Formula 1, tennis and more in a sports package
