By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
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| Meier becomes the fifth manager to leave his post in the Bundesliga |
Bundesliga club SV Darmstadt 98 confirmed on Monday that
they were parting company with head coach Norbert Meier (pictured). This comes off the
back of a dreadful run of form that has seen Die Lilien slip perilously
close to the relegation zone in Germany.
Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at home to bottom-placed Hamburger SV
was the final straw for the board, and they’ve elected to make a change before
the situation becomes too late.
Darmstadt have lost their lost five matches in the
Bundesliga and are now just one point above the bottom two positions. Meier
leaves having achieved just two league victories in his short reign at the
Jonathan-Heimes-Stadion am Böllenfalltor
A short
reign
Meier only took over at Darmstadt in the summer. He
succeeded Dirk Schuster who had left to fill the vacancy at FC Augsburg after he
guided Darmstadt to back-to-back promotions, then keeping them in the Bundesliga
last season.
There was a very lucky win over local rivals Eintracht
Frankfurt on Matchday 2 and a commanding 3-1 victory against VfL Wolfsburg on
Matchday 8. Other than that, poor performances and abject displays have been
the story of Meier’s reign with the club.
Darmstadt were harmed by a desperate summer recruitment
drive. Star striker Sandro Wagner left for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and he wasn’t
the only player to leave. Goalkeeper Christian Mathenia joined Hamburger SV,
Luca Caldirola returned to parent club SV Werder Bremen and György Garics
walked out on the club for personal reasons at the end of August.
Players like Änis Ben-Hatira, Antonio Colak, Alexander
Milosevic and Roman Bezjak were brought in very late in the transfer window to
boost numbers. While some of these players, especially Milosevic have shown
their quality, the team ethic hasn’t been as strong as it was last campaign.
No points away from home and defeats to the bottom two teams
on home soil in the last three weeks were ultimately the results that broke the
back of the manager.
Darmstadt president Rüdiger Fritsch explained the decision,
saying: "After careful analysis of yesterday's game, we reached the conclusion
that the club needs fresh impetus to reverse the current negative cycle, and
that is why this decision has been made."
The former SV Werder Bremen midfielder, who won 16 caps for
West Germany as a player is now looking for another job whilst Die
Lilien look for a successor.
Who takes over?
Darmstadt’s sporting director Holger Fach has also left the
club. Ramon Berndroth, head of the youth academy, takes over as interim boss
for now. Darmstadt has three more
matches before the traditional winter break in Germany, starting with Saturday
afternoon’s trip to mid-table Sport-Club Freiburg.
Names linked with the post include Bruno Labbadia, who was
dismissed by Hamburger SV in September and the experienced Jos Luhukay, whose
last job ended with VfB Stuttgart in the same month following disagreements
with the club’s owner.
With the transfer window looming, Darmstadt have a big
decision to make whether to promote from within or look for a more experienced
name who could preserve their Bundesliga status.
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