On Wednesday (5 July), VfL Bochum will start their preparations for the Bundesliga season – with a new man at coach Thomas Letsch’s side.
At best, the squad should be in place for the start of preparation. All those in charge at VfL Bochum agreed on this after the club’s success in keeping its place in the Bundesliga. The memories of the summer of 2022 are too present.
Back then, the signings came in bits and pieces, which may also have been a reason for the miserable start to the season. This year, VfL will at least have a framework in place for the start of training on Wednesday (5 July). However, there will still be changes in terms of both arrivals and departures. From 23 to 30 July, the team will go to the training camp in South Tyrol.
A new co-trainer will also be on board. This is what the WAZ editors learned and was confirmed by VfL later on Tuesday evening. Head coach Thomas Letsch will be supported by a former Bundesliga professional.
158-time Bundesliga player and Klinsmann assistant
Markus Feldhoff will join the Bochum coaching team with immediate effect. This is Bochum’s reaction to the decision of co-trainer Frank Heinemann not to continue in his current position. “‘Funny’ is a VfL veteran with a big blue and white heart,” says Marc Lettau, Bochum’s technical director.
“After almost four decades in professional football, he wants to take a bit of a break, which is understandable. We are currently in talks to see what opportunities open up for him to continue working in the sporting environment of the professional squad.” In his place, Feldhoff will assist with training work, analysis, match preparation and on match day, he said. The signed contract runs for two years until 30 June 2025.
“As a child of the Ruhr region, VfL Bochum has always accompanied me, mostly as an opponent,” says Feldhoff. “What has been achieved here in recent years is great. I’ve always perceived VfL Bochum as a member of the Bundesliga and now I’m looking forward to doing my bit to keep it that way.” The 48-year-old was most recently head coach at VfL Osnabrück. Before that, he assisted at several clubs, including SC Paderborn, Werder Bremen and FC Ingoldstadt. From November 2019 to April 2020, he was Jürgen Klinsmann’s co-coach at Hertha BSC.
In his playing career, he played 158 games in the Bundesliga (25 goals), 77 of them for Bayer Leverkusen. He also played for KFC Uerdingen, Borussia Mönchengladbach and VfL Wolfsburg. He also played for VfL Osnabrück in the 2nd Bundesliga. In 2008, he finally hung up his football boots at SSVg. Velbert.
In the club’s statement, Lettau describes Feldhoff as an “expert who, following a long professional career, has made a seamless transition to coaching. Markus knows the demands of his job profile and will complement our coaching team perfectly.”
The WAZ had already reported earlier that Björn Kadlubowski would be joining VfL. However, this has not yet been officially announced by the Bochum side. Kadlubowski is a rehab and athletics coach, studied sports science and comes from Arminia Bielefeld. He also works as a lecturer at the German Sport University in Cologne and is a doctoral student at the University of Vienna.