Gerald Asamoah’s contract as Schalke 04’s licensed player manager expires in the summer. How do professional clubs involve deserving ex-players?
The news that Gerald Asamoah will have to leave FC Schalke 04 in the summer after 25 years as a player and most recently in his role as head of the licensed player department has caused an uproar in Gelsenkirchen: Asamoah is a fan favorite, for many a legend of the Royal Blues, because he has always worked tirelessly for Schalke. But his contract is coming to an end, Schalke has to save money and the job is being scrapped. The 45-year-old knows: “It will be hard to get up in the morning and soon no longer go to Schalke.”
Schalke’s decision not to employ Gerald Asamoah beyond the summer has made waves on social media. Many expressed understanding for the decision because the future of the club is at stake. Despite his personal ambitions, Asamoah is not an option for the board of directors and supervisory board for a job with great responsibility. Nevertheless, many people who care about tradition and loyalty to the club are asking whether this is the way to deal with deserving ex-professionals.
Is this the right way? Keeping ex-professionals as officials? How do the 36 professional clubs in the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga deal with this? While an astonishing number of sports directors and managers in the top flight have a proven track record, the number of those who played for the club’s colors before their managerial career is lower. An overview.
Bundesliga
Bayer Leverkusen: Sporting Director Simon Rolfes
Bayer Leverkusen’s current success is of course primarily attributed to coach Xabi Alonso. But the fact that he can work with highly talented players is also thanks to Simon Rolfes, who wore the Werkself shirt from 2005 to 2015. The now 42-year-old played 26 times for Germany between 2007 and 2011.
Bayern Munich: Sports Director Christoph Freund, Chief Sports Officer Max Eberl
Bayern Munich’s sporting director Christoph Freund (46) never made it past the Austrian 2nd division, meaning he never played for the German record champions. The situation is different for Max Eberl, FC Bayern’s sporting director since March 1: The 50-year-old was trained in the Munich club’s youth ranks, but only played once for them in the Bundesliga (1991).
VfB Stuttgart: Sports director Fabian Wohlgemuth
The 44-year-old, who succeeded Sven Mislintat as the Swabians’ sporting director on December 3, 2022, has mainly played for Berlin and East German clubs
BVB: After Zorc, Kehl now in charge as ex-player Borussia Dortmund: Sporting director Sebastian Kehl
BVB is relying on black-and-yellow pedigree in the position of sporting director. After Michael Zorc led the sporting fortunes of Borussia Dortmund for many years until 2022, Sebastian Kehl has now been at work since July 1, 2022. The 2002 World Cup runner-up played for BVB for 13 years until 2015 and won the German championship three times with the club.
RB Leipzig: sports director Rouven Schröder
Rouven Schröder actually played for his previous club, VfL Bochum, in the Bundesliga in 2001/02. However, RB Leipzig did not even exist at that time.
Eintracht Frankfurt: Chief Sports Officer Markus Krösche, Sports Director Timmo Hardung
Markus Krösche brought the much-mentioned stable smell with him from 2017 to 2019 as sports managing director of SC Paderborn, for whom he had laced up his soccer boots for 13 years until 2014. However, the 43-year-old did not work for RB Leipzig (2019 to 2021) or Eintracht Frankfurt (since the 2021/22 season). Timmo Hardung (34) was never a professional and was promoted from Head of Licensing to Sports Director at Hesse last summer
Holstein Kiel: Sporting Director Uwe Stöver
Bayer Leverkusen, VfL Bochum and FSV Mainz 05 – but never Holstein Kiel. After six months as sporting director in Kiel, from where he then moved to Kaiserslautern and later to FC St. Pauli, the 57-year-old returned to the Storks in October 2019 and is also a member of the three-person executive committee as vice president.
Hamburger SV: Chief Sports Officer Jonas Boldt, Sports Director Claus Costa
Jonas Boldt (42) came into contact with professional soccer while studying business administration with a focus on sports management, particularly at Bayer Leverkusen, where he worked his way up from scout to sports director. He has been with HSV since 2019. Claus Costa (39) played for Fortuna Düsseldorf and VfL Osnabrück, as a scout for Bayer Leverkusen he also moved to Hamburg in 2019 and has been involved there as Director of Professional Football since March 2023.
Fortuna Düsseldorf: Chief Sports Officer Klaus Allofs, Sports Director Christian Weber, Head of Licensed Football Sascha Rösler
Three important positions, three times Fortuna: 57-year-old Klaus Allofs began his professional career at Fortuna in 1975, from where the 1980 European champion eventually moved to Werder Bremen in 1981 via FC Köln, Olympique Marseille and Girondins Bordeaux. Allofs has been back in the NRW state capital as an official since September 2020. Apart from a stint at Alemannia Aachen in 2012/13, Christian Weber played for Fortuna from 2009 to 2018. Sascha Rösler (46) scored 19 goals for Düsseldorf from 2010 to 2012 and has been back at Fortuna since 2015.
Hannover 96: Sports director Marcus Mann
The 40-year-old played as a central defender for six clubs from 2004 to 2016, but not for Hannover 96.
SC Paderborn: Sporting director Benjamin Weber
Benjamin Weber was at Borussia Dortmund, Paris St. Germain and Chelsea FC – but not as a professional, but as a video analyst. The 40-year-old has been in charge of the sporting fortunes of SC Paderborn since January 2023.
Karlsruher SC: Managing director Michael Becker
The managing director has been at Karlsruher SC since 2018; the 39-year-old has never made an appearance as a footballer.
SpVgg Greuther Fürth: Sports Managing Director Rachid Azzouzi
The 53-year-old Moroccan was a professional at Fürth from 1997 to 2004. From 2005 to 2012, Rachid Azzouzi gained extensive experience with the cloverleaves and ended up as sports manager. After excursions to Fortuna Düsseldorf and FC St. Pauli, he returned to SpVgg Greuther Fürth as sports managing director in 2017
Hertha BSC: Sports Managing Director Benjamin Weber
The 44-year-old Benjamin Weber joined Hertha BSC as a sports scientist back in 2004. He has been working in Berlin as Sports Director since January 2023.
1. FC Nuremberg: Chief Sports Officer Dieter Hecking, Sports Director Olaf Rebbe
59-year-old Dieter Hecking has been sporting director at Nuremberg since the 2020/21 season, having previously coached the club from 2009 to 2012. The 45-year-old Olaf Rebbe was previously sporting director at VfL Wolfsburg, Huddersfield and Thessaloniki before joining the Franconians in April 2021.
SV Elversberg: Sports director Nils-Ole Book
Nils-Ole Book played 14 times for MSV Duisburg in the Bundesliga, but the 38-year-old never played for Elversberg. Book has been the Saarland club’s sporting director since 2018.
1. FC Magdeburg: Chief Sports Officer Marius Sowislo, Sports Managing Director Otmar Schork
Sowislo spent the last, but also the biggest part of his career in Magdeburg from 2012 to 2018. He has been a member of the executive committee there since March 2021. Otmar Schork played in the Verbandsliga and Oberliga, and the 66-year-old has been driving FCM’s sporting development since the end of 2020.
SV Wehen Wiesbaden: Sporting director Paul Fernie
The 36-year-old Englishman has worked as a coach and scout since 2007. Wehen Wiesbaden is his first station as a responsible official since the end of June 2021.
Schalke 04: Sports director Marc Wilmots, head of licensing Gerald Asamoah
Eurofighter, fighting pig – from 1996 to 2000, the Belgian played his way into the hearts of Schalke fans. He has been back with the Royal Blues as sports director since the beginning of the year. Gerald Asamoah has been a defining Schalke face for 25 years, when he came to Gelsenkirchen as a player from Hannover 96. However, he will leave the club in the summer and his position as head of the licensed player department will be abolished without replacement.
1. FC Kaiserslautern: GmbH Managing Director Thomas Hengen, Technical Director Enis Hajri
Once four, once three years: Thomas Hengen was a Red Devil between 1992 and 2004. After many years as a scout at various clubs, the 49-year-old has been back at FC Kaiserslautern in the Palatinate since 2021. His technical director Enis Hajri (41) only made six appearances for FCK from 2012 to 2014, but after studying sports management, the Tunisian-born player was promoted to technical director on March 1, 2023.
Hansa Rostock: Sporting director Kristian Walter
The 39-year-old has been sporting director at Hansa Rostock since the beginning of June 2023, but has never been a player there.
Eintracht Braunschweig: Sports director Benjamin Kessel
Benjamin Kessel donned the Eintracht Braunschweig jersey from 2010 to 2015 and from 2019 to 2021. After ending his career, the 36-year-old initially worked as an assistant coach in the youth sector and has been the sports director of the traditional club since May 2023.
VfL Osnabrück: sports managing director Philipp Kaufmann, sports director Amir Shapourzadeh
Osnabrück is the first stop in Germany for the Swiss Philipp Kaufmann. The 30-year-old only took up his job three weeks ago and was most recently Technical Director at 20-time Swiss champions FC Basel. Iranian-born Amir Shapourzadeh (41) was active as a professional in Germany for a long time, but not with his current employer.