KFC Uerdingen and Marcus John went their separate ways at the start of the week. Or rather: KFC put John on leave. He speaks out for the first time after his departure.

Marcus John had been in charge of KFC Uerdingen as both coach and sporting director since July 1, 2023. On Monday, February 26, 2024, the Lower Rhine Oberliga club ended the collaboration. Quite surprisingly.

After all, the A-license holder is in fourth place in the Oberliga with the Krefeld team and in the Lower Rhine Cup quarter-finals (Wednesday, March 6, 7 p.m.) against Rot-Weiss Essen. And that despite all the adversity the 49-year-old has had to contend with at KFC since July 1, 2023.

No one is surprised that Uerdingen have been notoriously short of money for years. In order to finish this season and pay all salaries until June 30, 2024, KFC has to plug a hole of 500,000 euros. As things stand, not even half of the missing half a million euros has been raised.

It goes on: CEO Marc Schürmann resigned, the players have to keep chasing their salaries, KFC had to travel around Krefeld for months to train. And the list of adversities goes on: As Forecasting learned, John had to train with only ten balls at times, the players with only one training set, some of which was still soaked. And, and, and. In short: the complete opposite of professionalism.

That’s really bitter. There will be 10,000 spectators, the Grotenburg will be on fire. An awesome thing. It really hurts me that I can no longer stand on the touchline. But that’s the business. I don’t think RWE will have an easy game there. The KFC players have been eager for the game for weeks

Marcus John

Forecasting asked John, who is on leave. “I don’t want to comment on those things. I don’t want to go off on a tangent. But everyone should be aware that you’re much more than just the coach at KFC. Somehow you know what you’re getting yourself into. But then there are always new, unfortunately negative developments,” says the former coach and sporting director of 1. FC Bocholt, who led the Münsterland club into the regional league.

And yet: 49-year-old John is convinced that KFC could have achieved a lot this season. “Hilden won’t apply for a license, and I can’t imagine Baumberg doing so either. That leaves Ratingen – and the teams behind us. We’re five points behind Ratingen. There was still a lot to play for. I really enjoyed working with the team. But that’s over now. I definitely wish the boys all the best and hope that they can still rock this thing,” says John.

And then there’s the cup highlight against RWE. “That’s really bitter. There will be 10,000 spectators, the Grotenburg will be on fire. A great thing. It really hurts me that I won’t be able to stand on the touchline. But that’s the business. I don’t think RWE will have an easy game there. The KFC players have been eager for the game for weeks.”

And what’s next for John? “First of all, I have a contract with KFC until June 30, 2025. But of course I’m open to talks – both with Uerdingen and other clubs. In the end, you have to come to an agreement. “