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Sunday in Braunschweig: Marco Antwerpen signs in the Golden Book in the presence of Mayor Markurth. Tuesday in Braunschweig: Antwerp is fired
Credit: dpa / Christian Brahmann
He was just received by the mayor, now he is without a job. Although Marco Antwerp led Eintracht Braunschweig into the second division with brilliant tactics, the coach is fired. The association’s explanation is cryptic.
NNot even a week after returning to the 2nd Bundesliga, Eintracht Braunschweig broke up with its promotion coach Marco Antwerpen. The contract with the 48-year-old will not be extended, the club said.
The decision was made after a meeting of the supervisory board lasting several hours. Sports director Peter Vollmann wanted to keep the coach, but didn’t find a majority for it. “We are extremely grateful to Marco Antwerp for the work he has done over the past few months. He has a large share in the return to the 2nd Bundesliga, ”said Sebastian Ebel, president of the club and head of the supervisory board of the professional football company.
Promotion party: Marco Antwerp is celebrated by the fans
Quelle: Bongarts/Getty Images/Stuart Franklin
Daniel Meyer is seen as a possible successor. The 40-year-old led FC Erzgebirge Aue to relegation in the second division in the 2018/19 season and then had to leave again in August 2019 after inconsistencies with Auer President Helge Leonhardt.
Too direct, too angular
Antwerp and Eintracht were also facing separation before the Corona crisis. The candidate for promotion dropped back to ninth place in March, but increased dramatically after the season break of more than two months. Antwerp’s great achievement lies in having found the right answers to an unprecedented challenge. For example, the former coach from Preussen Münster practically formed two different teams for the Saturday and weekly games in order to be able to dose the physical stress after the restart. His decisions to put substitute Marcel Engelhardt in the gate and the experienced Stephan Fürstner in the defense center also paid off.
“He did a very good job, especially during the season break and in the five weeks after the restart,” praised Ebel. However, some members of the supervisory board apparently were disturbed by the 48-year-old’s direct and sometimes angular nature.
After exactly ten years with their former long-term coach Torsten Lieberknecht, the Braunschweig team is now wearing out four coaches in just two third-season seasons. In addition to Antwerp, Henrik Pedersen, André Schubert and Christian Flüthmann.
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