The people in charge at 1. FC Bocholt had probably not expected this. After the reserve coach’s retirement, he dismantled the team’s dressing room as “revenge”.
No, Niko Laukötter was not going to accept his replacement at the end of the season. And the second team of 1. FC Bocholt, which he had been coaching since 2019, didn’t take it lying down either.
The consequences: A strike by the players, a match lost without a fight – Forecasting reported – and a team dressing room that Laukötter simply dismantled after his immediate resignation.
One after the other: Last Saturday, Laukötter was told by the club that a new coach was to come in for the new season. Laukötter refused and resigned immediately. The team showed solidarity with him: they did not turn up for the match against SV Brünen in the Kreisliga A Rees-Bocholt that afternoon and the match was scored 0:2.
And Laukötter went one better: during the coronavirus pandemic, he had spruced up the 2nd team’s dressing room on his own initiative, with lockers and lockers for the players, everything looked very professional – now he dismantled it again out of frustration, even removing the floor – see photo forwarded to the Forecasting editorial team
The boys can’t boycott the game for weeks and months now. That won’t help anyone, not even the players. As athletes, they should have a completely different ambition, they’re still doing well in the table and could achieve something big. We’ll talk a lot more now and hope that we can get the cow off the ice.
Christopher Schorch
It is unclear how the second team will fare in sporting terms. Laukötter did not want to comment to RS on his departure and the “clean-up work” in the team’s dressing room.
We asked Christopher Schorch, Managing Director of Sport at 1. FC Bocholt, what led to Laukötter’s departure and what the future holds for the Kreisliga reserve team.
“Niko has his heart in the right place. He has never been guilty of anything. We’ve never really looked at the second team and the youngsters – we’re making up for that. And so we decided that Niko is a good guy and can continue to help us at 1. FC Bocholt, but no longer as coach of the second team and youth manager,” explained Schorch, who pointed out that the U19 and U17 teams have been relegated in the recent past.
However, he also revealed: “We offered Niko the prospect of another job at the club after the season, but he turned it down. I think it’s a shame that he drew the line for himself immediately and quit straight away. I can understand him taking his personal belongings such as a table, a music system and speakers out of the dressing room. After all, that’s his inventory.”
Despite the chaos, the door is not yet closed for Laukötter at Hünting. Schorch: “I’m currently talking to the team and also trying to talk to Niko. It’s all very emotional at the moment. But that doesn’t help anyone. The lads can’t just boycott matches for weeks and months on end. That won’t help anyone, not even the players. As athletes, they should have a completely different ambition, they’re still doing well in the table and could achieve something big. We will now talk a lot again and hope that we can get the cow off the ice.” wozi with sid