As recently as December, this coach had signed on with an Essen district league club for the 2024/2025 season. Now he’s gone.
Vogelheimer SV and coach Christian Mikolajczak are going their separate ways with immediate effect.
On Monday evening – March 18, 2024 – those responsible for the Essen district league club and the former professional, who played for FC Schalke 04, Dynamo Dresden and Hannover 96, among others, agreed to end their collaboration prematurely. Stephan Hooge, Mikolajczak’s assistant coach, is also leaving Lichtenhorst.
Mikolajczak and Hooge had only extended their contracts until June 30, 2025 shortly before Christmas 2023. Mikolajczak said in December 2023: “We quickly came to an agreement with the people in charge. We are pursuing a common path that should lead to the national league. The club undoubtedly has this potential. I started here in July 2021 and wanted to bring the club up. That remains the case: I want to lead the club into the national league!”
But this time, on Sunday (March 17, 2024), the managers and the coach did not see eye to eye. There was a scandal on the fringes of the 4:0 defeat at Mülheimer SV 07, the third defeat in a row
“Things happened on Sunday after and during the game that I can’t accept as a coach, but also as a person,” Mikolajczak told Forecasting and continued: “We informed the club that I can no longer accept such bad behavior from a player whose name I don’t want to mention and that I no longer want him in the squad. This player has not been behaving as he should in team sport for weeks. After the game in Mülheim, I was even accosted and verbally abused by friends of the player in question – that was the absolute bottom drawer. I’ve never experienced that before. Unfortunately, the board saw things differently and didn’t want to suspend the player. So on Monday evening we agreed to end our cooperation. I wish Vogelheimer SV all the best for the future.”
The 42-year-old Mikolajczak leaves Vogelheim with a 3rd place finish (2022/2023 season) and now in eighth place. The team also has the chance to qualify for the 2024/2025 Lower Rhine Cup with a win in the district cup quarter-finals on Wednesday evening (March 20, 7.30 pm) against regional league side VfB Frohnhausen.
According to forecasting information, Head of Sport Mike Sauer will take over the team with immediate effect. He could not be reached by RS. Frank Brettschneider, chairman of Vogelheimer SV, did not want to comment on Mikolajczak’s departure and referred to managing director Marcel Dworak – see info box.