Eichner rues missing "that final push" while reflecting on his time at Karlsruhe
| Photo: Frederic Scheidemann/Getty Images. |
Christian Eichner's tenure at Karlsruhe SC ended this summer after more than six years – since then, things have been quiet for the 43-year-old.
Having been assistant coach at KSC since April 2017 and took over as head coach in February 2020, the summer of 2026 was his first in ten years without preseason training.
“When you have the same structured routine for years, you naturally miss it,” Eichner said in an interview with Transfermarkt.de, leaving little for him to discuss at the dinner table.
Enjoying more quality family time and reflecting on big wins over the traditional clubs during his reign, Eichner adopted an honest review on where he feels it went wrong at Karlsruhe.
"I see it pragmatically: With a typical tenure of a second-division coach lasting only a year and a half, I wouldn't call it a failure, but rather a normal separation.
"We did good work, were competitive at times, but ultimately, for various reasons, we lacked that final push," he explained, alluding to their failed attempts to achieve promotion.
The first major setback came in December 2025 when Eichner's assistant coach and close confidant, Zlatan Bajramovic, was dismissed amid a pivotal six-game winless streak.
"Zlatan was like my 'second wife,' a very close friend and not just my assistant coach. Tears flowed not only for me, but also for the entire team.
"When you've worked so closely together for years, the weeks that follow are naturally very difficult. Of course, I even considered quitting myself.
“But after several discussions, it quickly became clear that I couldn't abandon the team,” he said, with Bajramovic now an assistant coach for the Bosnian national team.
Overall, Eichner still looks back on his time with the Baden-Württemberg outfit as an extremely positive one. You gather the sense he wouldn't change any part of how it unfolded.
“We accomplished an incredible amount in the past six and a half years. I became a professional coach practically overnight and experienced everything.
"We had challenging times, but also really good times. We successfully managed the balancing act between stabilization, consistency, and moving forward.
“What made me particularly proud was that we built an extremely strong bond between the team and the coaching staff over the years," Eichner concluded.
