Time is of the essence in the search for a Bundesliga sports director at Darmstadt 98

These days Carsten Wehlmann started his new job at Holstein Kiel. The North German resigned from Darmstadt 98 at the end of December and was then released as sports director – the position has been vacant since then. During his introduction, Wehlmann said two sentences that illustrate how great the time pressure is when looking for a successor for the “Lilien” and how complicated it could be to find a candidate.

On the one hand, Wehlmann said: “The time to start now is ideal because planning for the future begins at this time of year.” Accordingly, the people of Darmstadt are not adequately positioned in a responsible position in which groundbreaking decisions in squad planning will soon be made .

On the other hand, Wehlmann spoke about how much he, as Managing Director of Sports and Vice President, was looking forward to “being able to play a decisive role” in the club. In Darmstadt, it’s now an open secret, he couldn’t do that.

This was partly due to his rather reserved nature and partly due to the layout of the sports director’s department. And last but not least, the lack of freedom of movement between three alpha animals in the SVD management level: coach Torsten Lieberknecht, president Rüdiger Fritsch and Tom Eilers, appointed executive committee member for licensed player matters.

More workers than Zampano

Which probably doesn’t make the position seem very attractive to some candidates. We are looking for someone with a network and experience in squad planning, but who at the same time does not claim the directive authority in this area.

Someone who is outwardly a frontman and more present and skilled in public relations than Wehlmann, but at the same time internally embodies more of a helper than a Zampano. Someone who hardly has any training time left before the start of the summer transfer window, but who has to function immediately and be measured by the results (successful performance, creative player signings with a manageable budget, transfer proceeds).

Especially since after two successful second division seasons, the surprising promotion and the now likely direct relegation, a cycle is ending in the squad and there are large-scale player changes. 17 expiring professional contracts (including those of loan players) this summer indicate a major upheaval.

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Although this offers opportunities and scope for creativity. There are hardly any of these players who were particularly convincing this season or who could achieve larger transfer fees. In order to prepare for another Bundesliga season or to cushion against relegation, the search for a new sports director no longer only requires care, but also speed of action. Time is running out before a complicated gap arises.