After only 24 competitive games, Miroslav Klose’s era as coach of Cashpoint SCR Altach came to an end on Monday. As the bottom of the table in the Admiral Bundesliga announced, the long-standing German national player and World Cup record scorer would be “released from his duties with immediate effect”. A sequel is expected to be unveiled later this week.
According to media reports, Klaus Schmidt is to take over the Bundesliga club. The 51-year-old was already an Altach coach in the 2017/18 season. On Sunday, Klose was still optimistic after the surprising 1-1 draw at leader Red Bull Salzburg. “I’m obviously very happy with my team. She delivered in every respect, so I have to pay her a huge compliment,” the German said after the game.
However, the points gained did not seem to have convinced those responsible in Altach. “In the course of our analysis, we came to the decision that the team needed a new impetus to achieve our goal of staying in the league, to which we subordinate everything else,” stated sports director Georg Festetics. Assistant Slaven Skeledzic, who came to Altach with Klose in the summer of 2022, will also be released.
The Klose era at Altach is over
After only 24 competitive games, Miroslav Klose’s era as coach of Cashpoint SCR Altach came to an end on Monday. As the bottom of the table in the Admiral Bundesliga announced, the long-standing German national player and World Cup record scorer would be “released from his duties with immediate effect”.
Change of coach “always hurts a lot”
“I would like to thank Miro and his co-trainer Slaven Skeledzic for the work they have done. Even if a change of coach always hurts a lot, the most important thing is that SCR Altach will also be represented in the Bundesliga in the 2023/24 season,” said managing director Christoph Längle. Klose gave everything from the first to the last day. “It was a huge experience to have seen him as a coach and, above all, people in Altach,” said Längle.
After the last regular round on Sunday and the subsequent division of points, the Vorarlbergers are starting the fight against relegation in the qualifying group with eight points from the very back. In front of that are Ried, Hartberg (9 each) and the WAC (10) at least in the immediate vicinity.
Klose’s commitment in June of the previous year had caused a stir. After stints with Bayern Munich’s U17s and as an assistant coach for the Bayern pros, the 44-year-old first worked as a head coach in the men’s division in Ländle. “Right from the start it was exactly this positive feeling that I have to have, that I’m in the right place here,” Klose explained when he took office.
Last Altach victory on October 23rd
Nine months later, after four wins and 15 defeats in 22 league games, only trace elements are left. The last full success so far dates from October 23, in the last nine games since then you have only got three points. The youngest of them succeeded on Sunday in Salzburg. But the sign of life from an obviously intact and visibly committed team in Salzburg was obviously not enough.
