Bochum sack coach Reis after dism al start to season

Frankfurt: German club VFL Bochum have dismissed coach Thomas Reis ater six straight losses that let them botom of the Bundesliga table and yet to garner a point, the side said on Monday.

The 48-year-old has Bochum coursing through his veins as he played for them from 1995-2003.

“It should be clear to everyone that this decision is not easy for us,” said sports director Patrick Fabian.

“Thomas Reis has a connection to the club and the city that goes beyond the successful past three years.”

Assistant manager Markus Gellhaus was also dismissed. Coach of the under-19 side, Heiko Butscher, will take over as coach on an interim basis.

Bochum’s 3-1 loss at promoted Schalke on Saturday proved Reis’ final game in charge, almost exactly three years ater he took over the team.

Reis was appointed Bochum coach on Sept.6, 2019 when the team was struggling.

The former Bochum midfielder stabilised the side, then led them to promotion as seconddivision champion the following season. Reis helped Bochum avoid relegation last season, “almost like a fairytale,” the club said.

“As wonderful as these events were, they have since been overtaken by reality. The team is currently without a single point ater six matchdays, the worst start to a season in Vfl’s Bundesliga history. The team has still not found itself,” Bochum said on its website.

It said “a thorough and in-depth analysis” concluded “that a change of manager was necessary.”

He is the second Bundesliga coach to be fired this season.

Last week, Bundesliga club RB Leipzig fired manager Domenico Tedesco, ater a 4-1 home thrashing by Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk in their opening Champions League group match.

Former Borussia Dortmund manager Marco Rose was appointed in his place.

Union Berlin moved top of the Bundesliga table on Sunday with a 1-0 away win over Cologne at the expense of Freiburg who were held to a goalless draw against Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Freiburg missed their chance to end the round of matches first in the table for only the third time in their history.

Despite the scoreline, Freiburg’s game featured end-to-end atacking throughout, with both sides denied by excellent goalkeeping.