It is the end of an era and a turning point for Erzgebirge Aue. President Helge Leonhardt announces his resignation on Sunday, taking responsibility for the sporting slide.
Helge Leonhardt resigns. The president of FC Erzgebirge Aue announced his resignation on Sunday and thus takes responsibility for the sporting decline of the bottom team of the 3rd Football League. Leonhardt made the announcement himself in a letter on Sunday. He had previously informed the presidium and the supervisory board.
“I very much hope that this will enable an orderly new beginning to be shaped and that it will prevent further escalations that would cause public damage to the club,” Leonhardt said. “I am by no means leaving in malice or anger, I am leaving in prudence, with mature consideration and with a warm heart.”
The businessman had been president of the club since September 2014 and had been involved in all decisions since then, usually setting the tone. Leonhardt was unable to prevent relegation in the season he took office. However, the FCE immediately climbed back up and then stayed in the 2nd Bundesliga for six years. During this time, Leonhardt paved the way for coach Domenico Tedesco, among others, to reach the Bundesliga.
The 63-year-old’s second relegation in the summer, however, was also due to his bad decisions, and calls for his resignation arose as early as two months ago. Leonhardt promised a reappraisal and a return to the virtues of Auer. To this end, he brought in coach Timo Rost from Bayreuth, and the squad was rebuilt – in part inevitably due to the relegation.
But it did not work. With only three points from nine games, Aue are bottom of the league. Friday’s match against 1860 Munich (1:3) had already been declared the final game for Rost. Leonhardt does not have to sack the coach now, he has transferred this decision to others by resigning. After a number of blunders at the coaching position, Leonhardt’s fate was closely linked to Rost’s anyway.
Recently, there had been great unrest in the environment due to the crisis. Sponsors are said to have demanded consequences, 43 fan clubs vented their anger in an open letter and demanded the resignation of the board. “The reasons for this, apart from the current sporting capitulation, lie in part a long time ago, but could still be covered up by sporting successes in the 2nd League. During the recent downturn in footballing fortunes, however, the lack of action on the part of the board for the good of the club is now becoming increasingly apparent,” the letter said.