After more than ten years, Viktoria Köln loses its president – he resigns for health reasons.
An era is coming to an end for Viktoria Köln in the 3rd league. As the club announced, Günter Pütz will resign after more than ten years at the helm of the club.
The 71-year-old announced his resignation for health reasons at the general meeting on Tuesday. During his tenure, the club tried again and again to reach the 3rd division.
In 2019, the time had come: Viktoria was promoted and, after finishing twelfth, twelfth and thirteenth, has been able to stay in the 3rd Division ever since. This season, things are going even better. At the start of the winter break, the Cologne team are in seventh place.
With regard to his resignation, Pütz emphasised: “As everyone here can imagine, this important step was very, very difficult for me. But after careful consideration, I felt that I owed this decision to my health, but also to the future of Viktoria. “
I was allowed to be a small part of a great success story
Günter Pütz
Before talking about the future of the Viktoria, however, Pütz preferred to indulge in the past for a bit, about which he explained: “I was allowed to be a small part of a great success story. Now, privately and as a friend of the Viktoria family, I would like to accompany the club on its further path and enjoy club life here in Höhenberg without pressure. From the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank Franz-Josef Wernze in particular, who placed his trust in me almost eleven years ago, so that I was able to share in the club’s development with them.”
Initially, the plan was for Pütz to remain in office until the new elections in 2023, but now Viktoria has enough time to find a successor.
The club announced that the three vice-presidents Franz Wunderlich, Holger Kirsch and Willy Scheer will run the club’s affairs until these new elections.
The trio stated: “We regret Günter Pütz’s departure, but we fully understand his decision. We now wish him nothing but the best in terms of his health and look forward to continuing to welcome him to the Sportpark as a friend of the club. “
