It’s a tight race at the bottom of the Landesliga Niederrhein 2 standings. For one club, the relegation battle has claimed a coach.

Four straight losses were ultimately too much: Sportfreunde 07 has parted ways with head coach Marcel Stenzel. As a result, the second-to-last team in the Landesliga Niederrhein 2 standings is now without a head coach for the time being.

“We’ve relieved Marcel Stenzel of his duties because we believe he can no longer cope with the pressure,” the club’s sporting director, Dietmar “Didi” Schacht, told the NRZ.

Click here for the full article by our colleagues, including a statement from Marcel Stenzel.

The solution for his replacement, meanwhile, is as simple as it is obvious. For now, the 63-year-old will take charge on the sidelines himself. Just over a month after Schacht took over as sporting director, this is his next additional task.

His mission: to get the Lions back on track and create the conditions needed to secure their place in the Landesliga. Together with the existing coaching staff, Schacht aims to ensure the team starts moving in the right direction again. He wants to inject new energy and bring fresh team spirit and passion to the squad.

“No one is more important than the club,” he emphasized in a brief statement from the Duisburg-based club. The statement also reads: “All decisions made in the future will be in the best interests of Hamborn 07.” This was stated in the October announcement.

“On the sports side, things are in a bit of a mess right now. Our points tally is anything but satisfactory, and ultimately, the very existence of the club is at stake,” the new sporting director later emphasized to Forecasting. “Hamborn 07 is a club with a rich tradition here in Duisburg, and because I want that to remain the case in the future, I accepted this offer. For me, this is a matter very close to my heart.”

He continued: “It will be an exciting challenge, and it will be important for everyone involved to pull together. Avoiding relegation is the top priority this season. I’m very fortunate to have sole authority over sporting matters, which means I can implement my ideas exactly as I envision them. With a task like this, it’s always important to be able to do that.”

In any case, the challenges haven’t gotten any easier. After 14 games, Hamborn has managed to collect just ten points. On Sunday, November 30, the Duisburg team will travel to face SG Essen-Schönebeck.