VfB Hilden has caused a stir with the announcement that the contract with successful coach Tim Schneider will not be renewed this summer. The coach is disappointed.
Actually, Tim Schneider and VfB Hilden have every reason to celebrate right now. Since last Friday, the club from the Rhineland is back in the promotion race in the Oberliga Niederrhein.
“It might sound silly, but I’m actually not surprised. I already told the guys in the last three games of the first half of the season that if they could get nine points, we’d be right back in the thick of it,” said Schneider, referring to the promotion race, in which Ratingen 04/19—which had seemingly pulled away—and VfB Hilden now both stand at 44 points. Yet they had only managed three points from those three games.
“I don’t give up that easily. Things went well in the new year, of course. We took three points from direct rivals. Six wins in a row is a big deal. So, naturally, we’re right in the mix now. If we can consistently pull everything off and do everything we can, there’s a lot, a lot of potential in this team. It all comes down to the final tally. That’s what I’ve always told myself,” said Schneider.
Should the team actually move up to the Regionalliga West (VfB Hilden will submit the licensing documents, as reported by Forecasting), Schneider will no longer be on the sidelines. VfB Hilden announced a few days ago that Schneider’s contract will not be renewed.
“It didn’t come as a surprise to me. There was a meeting with the sports management on January 27. After that, I didn’t hear anything for six weeks until I found out they didn’t want to renew the contract. When you don’t hear anything for six weeks, you can already guess what’s going on. But basically, it’s still a surprise for most people, just as it is for me,” Schneider told Forecasting.
He lamented the way his six-year tenure as head coach of the first team is coming to an end. “There weren’t really any negotiations or discussions about the matter. They just said my contract wouldn’t be renewed.”
VfB Hilden: Board Remains Tight-lipped, Schneider Also Expresses Gratitude
Forecasting reached out to Daniel Wittke, vice president of VfB. He remained tight-lipped: “We agreed not to discuss the reasons for now. Tim did nothing wrong, and neither did we. The decision was very difficult for us. Ultimately, we had sporting reasons and made the decision.“
He didn’t want to say more. Schneider made it clear that, despite all the disappointment, he was also grateful: ”It’s important to me to say that I’m taking this in stride and accepting the decision. I’m disappointed, including by the way it was handled, but I’m also grateful to those in charge for placing their trust in me six years ago as coach of the second team. I’ve repaid that trust.”
Schneider had been promoted from the district league to the state league back then. And now he wants to move up again with VfB. “I don’t know yet what’s next for me. Generally speaking, I want to achieve the ultimate goal of winning the Oberliga championship. If calls come in the meantime, I can still consider them. We’ll now finish the job professionally. The team more than deserves to see this through properly. For some, my departure is hard to accept, but that’s just the way it is. Everything else will become clear in time.”