A Schalke competitor has extended his contract with his coach. He is one of the longest-serving coaches in the 2nd Bundesliga.

For a long time, the future of Christian Eichner at Karlsruher SC was open. Now it has been clarified: the 41-year-old has extended his expiring contract with the Badeners – without an escape clause. The new employment contract is valid until 2027, and the collaboration with assistant coach Zlatan Bajramovic has also been extended for this period.

Eichner has been on the KSC sidelines since the beginning of 2020, making him the longest-serving coach of any second division club after Horst Steffen (SV Elversberg) and Sascha Hildmann (Preußen Münster). By comparison, Karlsruhe’s rivals Schalke 04 have had ten different coaches during this period.

The continuity is paying off for Karlsruhe. Eichner has formed a top team over time. After finishing fifth in the previous season, KSC is currently in fourth place and is in the running for promotion. Fans have long been dreaming of the first Bundesliga season since 2009.

The fact that the contract extension took so long to materialize was therefore met with incomprehension – especially since the club officials and the coach had repeatedly emphasized that they could well imagine continuing to work together. Now KSC can finally put this matter behind them.

“In intensive discussions, we have discussed the joint future of KSC with Christian Eichner,” explains managing director Michael Becker on the extension. “It is very important to all of us that we have a shared vision of where we want to take KSC in the next few years. Christian Eichner is an important success factor in the new strategy, in addition to the sporting goals, to increase the probability of achieving our economic goals.”

Eichner himself emphasizes: “From the outset of our discussions, it was our wish as a coaching team to continue along the path we have taken with this KSC team with maximum passion beyond the current season. We see the extraordinary cohesion that has grown over the years in the sporting area as an ideal basis for the further successful development of the club at all levels.”