Promoted third division club VfB Lübeck has parted ways with coach Lukas Pfeiffer – just a few days before the game at Rot-Weiss Essen. That’s what’s behind it.

The next change of manager in the third division: VfB Lübeck have let Lukas Pfeiffer go. The promoted club made the announcement late on Monday afternoon – this Friday, the club will host Rot-Weiss Essen (7 p.m./stadium an der Hafenstraße).

Pfeiffer was already the subject of heated debate at the weekend. Lübeck are four points behind Halle FC in a relegation place. And the coach was increasingly criticized in the Hanseatic city. Cries of “Pfeiffer out” were recently heard in the stadium. Now the club is reacting.

Sports director “regrets” the decision

“I very much regret that this decision had to be made and would first like to thank Lukas for his outstanding work over the last few years,” said sporting director Sebastian Harms about the separation. “He is a very good coach who has already achieved great things with our VfB at a young age and who I believe will have a very good career in the future and wish him all the best. We worked together openly and trustingly at all times.”

Pfeiffer had been working for the traditional club since 2020, leading them into the 3rd division in the summer – VfB thought so highly of the 32-year-old that they paid a fine, as Pfeiffer does not actually have the license to coach in the third division. In 2022, he was named coach of the year in Schleswig-Holstein. A real talent. His path will continue elsewhere.

“I will remember many special moments and also many people with whom I really enjoyed working,” he said after his retirement. “I will always look back with pride on many of the things we achieved together. I wish the team and all VfB players that the club can maintain its family atmosphere in the future and also achieve its sporting goals.”

VfB Lübeck plays at RWE on Friday

Instead, sporting director Harms is now calling the team to account. “In our situation, we have to constantly review ourselves and are now convinced that the team needs new impetus, which can only be achieved through a change in the coaching position,” he says. “In this respect, a separation is the necessary step for the club at this point in time.”

There will therefore be no more alibis for the team next Friday, when VfB Lübeck play in Essen. Former HSV professional Bastian Reinhardt, previously assistant coach, will then sit on the bench on an interim basis