Concordia Wiemelhausen has appointed Hakan Yalcinkaya as its new sporting director. He tells us how he came to take on this new role and what his goals are.

Last season, Hakan Yalcinkaya was still the coach at crisis-stricken TVD Velbert. Now the former Oberliga player is taking on a new challenge: Starting in the new calendar year, he will be the sporting director of Concordia Wiemelhausen, which currently sits in eleventh place in the Westfalenliga 2.

Initial contact was made back in the summer, when his former club played a friendly against the Bochum side. There is also a connection between Yalcinkaya and a coach, as he explains: “I’ve known the current coach, Jürgen Heipertz, since my youth days, because he was my youth director at VfL Bochum. After that, we stayed in sporadic contact from time to time.”

Things became more concrete when the club approached Yalcinkaya and invited him to a game. “After the relegation last year, there was a shake-up there. The coach and sporting director were let go,” says the former ETB U19 coach.

There were many reasons why he ultimately decided to take on the role of sporting director there. Above all, the conscious decision not to work as a coach again was clear from the start. “I had a few offers over the summer, but I wanted to take a break for my family. I thought this through very carefully as well. I decided to take the job because I’d like to get to know the Westfalenliga. Plus, the facility isn’t too far from home,” explains Yalcinkaya, who also praises his new club: “It’s a very well-run and reputable club.”

Yalcinkaya wants to fully immerse himself in his new role as sporting director. It’s important to him that he can help the club move forward, as he tells us: “My personal goal is to add value to the club. I’d say I have a strong network, which I’m sure can help. And I can really identify with the role.”

As for the Bochum team’s sporting future, the new team manager already has concrete ideas. “This year’s goal is to stay in the league for now, which we should be able to achieve without any problems,” says Yalcinkaya confidently. But he also has plans beyond the current season: “After that, it’s my job to put together a good and ambitious team. We don’t want to hide away; we want to have a say. It’s also about bringing continuity to the club.”