A week ago, Sportfreunde Siegen parted ways with Patrick Helmes. The successor is now fixed.

Sportfreunde Siegen have taken the first step out of the crisis without a new coach. On Sunday, they celebrated their long-awaited first victory of the season with a 4-1 win at SpVgg Erkenschwick with sporting director Ottmar Griffel as the interim solution on the sidelines.

The following day, it was decided who would lead the Westfalen-Oberliga club back to success in the long term. Thorsten Nehrbauer is the Siegen club’s new coach. He follows Patrick Helmes, from whom the club had parted exactly one week ago. “I’m absolutely delighted to be able to work at an absolutely traditional club,” says the 45-year-old about his new task.

Nehrbauer had been without a club since the end of the preseason. Until then, he had coached Siegen’s city neighbor 1. FC Kaan-Marienborn. Nehrbauer’s time at Kaan-Marienborn was forced to end after the club voluntarily withdrew from the Regionalliga to the Kreisliga C. He had previously led the club to promotion and then to fifth place in the Regionalliga table.

In addition to Kaan-Marienborn, where Nehrbauer also worked from 2014 to 2019, Nehrbauer coached Bonner SC and TuS Homburg. During his playing days, the ex-professional played 132 second-division games for Fortuna Düsseldorf, Mainz 05 and 1. FC Saarbrücken, among others.

“Thorsten has proven in his previous stations that he can shape the style of play of a team with his meticulous work and his soccer philosophy and understands how to develop it further,” said Siegen’s CEO Roland Schöler. “We are all the more pleased that the talks last week led so quickly to an agreement.”

At Sportfreunde, Nehrbauer’s commitment should usher in happier times again. Last season, they were almost relegated. The start to the new season was also unsuccessful, and those responsible drew consequences with the departure of Helmes.

After the liberation against Erkenschwick, Siegen will host TuS Bövinghausen in Nehrbauer’s debut (Sunday, October 8, 3 p.m.). The A-license holder already knows many players from his new squad. With Mats-Lukas Scheld, Arthur Tomas, Daniel Waldrich, Julian Bibleka and Kevin Krumm, a quintet had moved from Kaan-Marienborn to Leimbachtal in the summer.