Following VfL Bochum and Fortuna Düsseldorf, a third club in the 2nd Bundesliga has pulled the plug and suspended its coach.

This is a rather rare occurrence. But at 1. FC Magdeburg, a friendly defeat was the last straw.

Last year, 1. FC Magdeburg was in contention for promotion almost until the end of the season. Things look different in this second division season. Almost nothing is going right.

After eight match days, FCM is last in the table, having lost seven of its eight games. The only three points came in Dresden. Most recently, there was a 0-4 defeat to SV Elversberg and a 0-6 defeat in a friendly against Eintracht Braunschweig.

After this disaster, head coach Markus Fiedler could no longer be kept on. He has to leave, as do the two assistant coaches Andreas Schumacher and Saban Uzun. The U23 coaching duo Petrik Sander and Pascal Ibold, together with assistant coach Silvio Bankert, will prepare the team for the second division match at SV Darmstadt 98 on an interim basis.

Otmar Schork, sporting director at 1. FC Magdeburg, explained the decision: “As announced, we conducted a thorough analysis last week and came to the conclusion that the team no longer has confidence in Markus and hopes for a turnaround. After the 0-4 defeat against Elversberg and the 0-6 defeat in the test match against Eintracht Braunschweig, the team was at a loss. With Petrik Sander and Pascal Ibold, together with Silvio Bankert and the rest of the staff, we have an interim solution. They will prepare the team for the difficult away game in Darmstadt. We are currently in talks to find the right coach for FCM. We would like to thank Markus for his work, and I still consider him to be a good coach. Unfortunately, we did not achieve the results and success we would have liked.“

Fiedler also commented on his suspension: ”It was a great honor for me to work for this proud, traditional club. Unfortunately, together we did not achieve the results we deserved based on our performance. We knew that we would need time after the upheaval in the summer, but after many unfortunate games, we fell into a downward spiral that was difficult to stop. I would like to thank those responsible for their trusting cooperation and wish the club and the team all the best for the future.”