Wehrle denies reports of possible Mislintat dismissal
VfB Stuttgart CEO Alexander Wehrle denied reports that he was considering parting company with club sporting director Sven Mislintat on Friday. Former 1. FC Köln and Hannover 96 boss Horst Heldt has been linked with the position.
Amid rumors that VfB chairman Alexander Wehrle and sporting director Sven Mislintat are in disagreement about how to proceed with the head-coaching question after Pellegrino Matarazzo's firing earlier this week, the current club CEO took time on Friday to deny a specific report that he was considering releasing Mislintat from his current contract.
Wehrle flatly denied the Sky report yesterday, saying that he had neither personally partaken in the search for a new head-coach or "spoken to anyone about the sporting director position." The rumors appear to be the work of understandably speculative fiction after Wehrle appointed a slew of new personalities to the front office one month ago and even apologized for keeping Mislintat out of the loop during the process.
The rumors do retain a certain sense of logic in that Mislintat's contract is scheduled to expire at the end of the season. The chief personnel executive so personally wedded to the Matarazzo coaching regime for so long doesn't appear to be the best figure to select the American trainer's successor. Some more sweeping administrative housekeeping at Stuttgart can, thus, not be ruled out entirely.