1860 Munich is looking for a great solution for the position of sporting director. There is apparently a favourite.
There has been a lot going on at TSV 1860 Munich in recent months. The plan was for the club to play for promotion to the 2. Bundesliga for a long time.
The goal was missed by a huge margin due to a weak season in the 3rd division, with a gap of 13 points to the third relegation place.
As a result, there were many discussions, also at coach and sporting director level. The coach had already been changed last season, and now there was also a change at the sporting director level.
In mid-June, the club announced that 1860 and sporting director Günther Gorenzel would be going their separate ways in future. The 51-year-old is moving to Austria Klagenfurt in his native Austria. After five and a half years at a stretch and a total of almost a decade, Gorenzel is drawing a line under his time at TSV.
A major solution is now being discussed as his successor. Horst Heldt, formerly in charge at Schalke, is said to be the favourite for the position of sporting director at the “Löwen”.
This is reported by “dieblaue24”. At the members’ meeting, 1860 president Robert Reisinger explained: “After Günther Gorenzel’s departure to his home country, 1860 needs a new sporting director. I have spoken out internally in favour of installing a strong personality. For various reasons, the succession took longer than I would have liked. The internal debate will soon come to an end. Before long, 1860 should once again have a sporting director of calibre.”
And that should be Heldt, who has most recently been on the lookout for a new role after leaving as managing director of sport at 1. FC Köln in May 2021.
Heldt, who lives in Munich and has a playing past at the club (125 games for 1860), is said to be ready to join the third-division club as sporting director under managing director Marc Pfeifer, according to information from “dieblaue24”.
He would not be able to exert much influence on the squad, as 17 players have already left after last season’s poor campaign, while eight new players have been brought in. The Munich club generated a large income through the departure of centre-back talent Leandro Morgalla, who moved to RB Salzburg for a reported 1.8 million euros.
Perhaps Heldt will soon be able to decide how this money is invested in new players at the traditional club. Whereby there are apparently already different views on when it makes sense to introduce a new sporting director.
We are so far advanced in the planning that it probably wouldn’t make sense now.
Maurizio Jacobacci
1860 coach Maurizio Jacobacci explained, “If someone came in at this moment, it would be difficult. He would have to learn the ropes and understand my ideas first. We are far advanced in the planning that it probably wouldn’t make sense now.”
But the president sees things differently. He told the “SZ”: “KGaA personnel decisions are not part of a coach’s remit.”
Doesn’t sound like a great harmony.