Even without a sports general manager, MSV Duisburg has presented a new coach. The search was led by the previous chief scout Chris Schmoldt.

For a long time, it was unclear if and when MSV Duisburg would present a new coach – also because Ralf Heskamp, the sports managing director who would have probably played a central role in such a decision, was fired. Now, about three and a half weeks after the dismissal of Torsten Ziegner, the decision has been made: Engin Vural moves back to the U19s and Boris Schommers takes over.

Chris Schmoldt was in charge of the negotiations. After Heskamp’s dismissal, the chief scout took over the duties of sports general manager together with Branmir Bajic for the time being. “He led the talks, we were there and also participated, but the moderation took over and also created the coach list – with additions from our side – has Chris,” explained President Ingo Wald during the presentation of the new coach. Afterwards, he said, the impressions were discussed together and a “unanimous” decision was made in favor of Schommers.

Schmoldt himself emphasized: “We approached the search for a new coach in a way that is appropriate for a professional club, both objectively and professionally. Accordingly, he said, they analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of their own team and primarily asked themselves, “What does the team need now?”

MSV didn’t want to bring in a “firefighter

The result: “We are still bottom of the table in the 2nd league. That means we need someone who knows the situation and already has experience in such a situation.” However, he said, the decision was made consciously not to go for a classic “firefighter”. “We want to create stabilization in the squad and in the club, but we also want the players to develop further, the team to get better and to have a signature,” Schmoldt explained further.

In the search for this profile, they had held “very, very many talks with coaches” and ultimately came to the conclusion that Schommers was the right man. “Boris Schommers convinced us both professionally and as a person. With him, we have found a coach who already knows such a situation and has also experienced it at traditional clubs, as we are one at the end of the day.” The 41-year-old has already coached 1. FC Nürnberg and 1. FC Kaiserslautern.

Schmoldt already knew Schommers from a time they spent together at the NLZ of 1. FC Köln and, in his role as a scout, always had protégés of his in mind, as he explained. “He has shown that he can develop teams. I know many of his former players from the past and have seen time and again how players have been in a hole and quickly improved after Boris Schommers took over.” That will now also be needed in Duisburg.