Bitter news for Markus von Ahlen. The Fortuna Köln head coach is losing his trusted assistant.
Fortuna Köln and Thomas Kraus are going their separate ways with immediate effect. The assistant coach of the regional league club is moving to Austrian Bundesliga club Rapid Vienna with immediate effect.
Cologne’s Südstädter have agreed to terminate his contract. The parties have agreed not to disclose the terms of the transfer. Kraus only took over as assistant coach at Fortuna at the start of the season after ending his active career. The traditional Austrian club has just appointed a new head coach in Robert Klauß – Forecasting reported. The 36-year-old Kraus will make his debut on the touchline for the Green-Whites this Sunday in the home game against BW Linz.
“We would have liked to keep Tommy at the club for longer. This is sad news for us, both in sporting and personal terms. But we didn’t want to spoil this opportunity for Tommy, which has arisen for him at short notice,” said Fortuna president Hanns-Jörg Westendorf.
Everyone at this club who knows me knows that I’ve always felt at home at Fortuna. Sometimes in life an opportunity arises from one day to the next and you have to seize it. That was a lucky coincidence for me
Thomas Kraus
“Of course we very much regret Tommy’s departure. He has already achieved a lot in his short time with us. But he was suddenly able to take the next step in his coaching career. He is a deserving former Fortuna player. So we didn’t want to deny him his wish. I would like to take this opportunity to wish him all the best for his sporting future,” added Head of Sport Matthias Mink.
“I’m incredibly grateful to Markus von Ahlen in particular, but also to Matthias Mink and Hanns-Jörg Westendorf, for giving me this opportunity in the summer. The collaboration was great. Everyone at this club who knows me knows that I’ve always felt at home at Fortuna. Sometimes in life an opportunity arises from one day to the next and you have to seize it. It was a lucky coincidence for me,” says Thomas Kraus about his move from the German Regionalliga West runners-up to the Austrian Bundesliga club, which currently occupies 8th place in the table.
