SpVgg Greuther Fürth has responded to its sporting crisis by parting ways with coach Thomas Kleine. His successor has been confirmed.

SpVgg Greuther Fürth has made a change of coach. Thomas Kleine has been relieved of his duties. The same applies to Kleine’s assistant coaches Milorad Pekovic and Marco Konrad.

After 14 match days, Fürth is in 17th place in the table with only 13 points. Last weekend’s 0-3 defeat to VfL Bochum was their sixth defeat in the last seven league games. Sports director Stephan Fürstner subsequently decided not to publicly back Kleine.

This Sunday (1:30 p.m./Sky), the 275th Franconian derby against local rivals 1. FC Nürnberg is on the agenda. It is already clear who will prepare the team for the derby and get them out of the basement. Heiko Vogel will take over with new assistants with immediate effect. “We would like to thank Thomas, Milorad, and Marco for their efforts. Thomas managed to get us over the finish line with the team last season during a difficult phase. Unfortunately, we have not been able to eliminate recurring mistakes and earn the necessary points this season,” explains sporting director Stephan Fürstner. The new head coach at Spielvereinigung is Heiko Vogel. The 50-year-old most recently worked at FC Basel, where he won the Swiss double with his team in 2012. “Heiko brings a wealth of experience, both in the professional arena and in working with talented players. We are convinced that, together with his coaching team, he will be able to instill structure in the team and also promote the development of each individual player,” says Fürstner.

Vogel, who coached Borussia Mönchengladbach’s U23 team between 2020 and 2022 and was coach of KFC Uerdingen from May 2019 to September 2019, brings Danny Schwarz (most recently head coach at FC 08 Homburg) and Aleksandro Petrovic (most recently head coach at TSV Buchbach) to his coaching team.

“I am very much looking forward to joining Spielvereinigung and want to help our team get back on track for success. We will give our all to achieve this. We have a special game coming up this weekend and will prepare meticulously for it,” said Heiko Vogel on Monday as he signed his contract until summer 2027.