1. FC Kaiserslautern has found a new coach. Dimitrios Grammozis is to lead the Red Devils out of the crisis.

1. FC Kaiserslautern is in a real crisis. The first game after the dismissal of Dirk Schuster also ended in a debacle, with the team losing 4-1 to 1. FC Magdeburg under interim coach Niklas Martin. It was the fourth competitive game defeat in a row. Now, FCK has presented a new head coach – and it’s a familiar name in the area.

Dimitrios Grammozis will be on the sidelines at the Betzenberg with immediate effect, the club announced on Sunday. The 45-year-old is due to lead the first training session on the same day and make his debut in the cup against Nuremberg on Tuesday (6 p.m.).

From 2013 to 2019, Grammozis worked his way up from the youth performance center at VfL Bochum to become the U19 coach. He got his first chance in the professional field at SV Darmstadt 98, which signed him in February 2019. After missing out on promotion, they parted ways in June 2020.

Nine months later, the German-Greek returned to the Ruhr area and signed for Bundesliga club FC Schalke 04. However, he was unable to turn things around for the miners in the final stretch of the season either and was relegated to the 2nd Bundesliga with the Royal Blues.

After a 3-4 defeat against Rostock, it was the end of the line for Schalke.

With Grammozis, they then set about the mission of direct promotion. However, after a 3-4 home loss to Hansa Rostock on matchday 25, Schalke pulled the ripcord and fired Grammozis in March 2022 after a year and four days in office. The team had slipped to sixth place by that point and was six points behind second and third place.

As is well known, Mike Büskens took over the helm and saved S04 from relegation. Meanwhile, Grammozis was without a new job – until this December 3, 2023, when the crisis-stricken 1. FC Kaiserslautern stepped in and gave the coach a new chance in the 2nd Bundesliga.