Kicker report: FCA's patience with Reuter may be wearing thin
With some of his public comments this week, FC Augsburg boss Klaus Hofmann has hinted that it might be time for an administrative housecleaning.
After Friday night's debacle, a managing director who has already cycled through seven separate head-coaching regimes now comes into focus.
Klaus Hofmann had a lot to say to the German press this week following a round of stakeholder meetings at FC Augsburg. In addition to making some controversial comments on VAR and league etiquette, the FCA boss made his dissatisfaction with the state of the club clear.
After Friday night's debacle, a managing director who has already cycled through seven separate head-coaching regimes now comes into focus.
"We have systematically gotten out of the habit of playing football," Hofmann noted.
After Friday night's 1-4 loss to Mainz in the Pfalz, one would be hard pressed to disagree with the words of the Fuggerstädter executive. The visiting Bavarian Swabians fell behind 0-3 before the half hour mark courtesy of some appallingly amateurish defensive errors. If head-coach Marcus Weinzierl had a shape in mind for his team, it certainly didn't show on the pitch.
The 16th-placed-club has now only won two of twelve fixtures since Weinzierl was reinstated late last season. When Hofmann gave a 40-minute-speech to club members earlier in the week, he expressed full confidence in the coach who one led the FCA to their highest-ever table finish. He did not mention the name of managing director Stefan Reuter once.
Since coming on board as the top sporting exec. in 2012, Reuter has done well to keep the club in the top division. The 55-year-old's habit of dismissing trainers in either March or April each year in order to avoid relegation (Manuel Baum, Martin Schmidt, Heiko Herrlich) appears to be wearing a bit thin.
David Bernreuther of German footballing magazine Kicker claims sources close to the club report that a big rift is developing between the administrative bosses and their general manager who can't seem to take the team to the next level. Some reported controversies include the length of time that Reuter held onto Herrlich last year and the fact that Reuter took an extended vacation early this year despite the team's precarious situation.
Reuter himself spoke to the DAZN microphones after last night's loss.
"We can't be satisfied with what we've had to offer in recent years," Reuter acknowledged, "But the way we've reacted generally over the years has kept the team popular [amongst the fans]. We have to get back to that and are convinced that we'll get there again."
Whether Hofmann and the rest of the higher ups have an interest in allowing Reuter to lead that effort remains to be seen.