Trouble after another crash
©IMAGO
Despite the sporting crisis and the resulting unrest within the club, 1. FC Magdeburg continues to rely on Petrik Sander. “There is no discussion about coaches,” sports director Otmar Schork said on Monday. After just one victory in the last six games, FCM fell back into a relegation zone. With 23 points from 24 games, the Elbstadt team is tied with the inferior team from Greuther Fürth.
Sander first took over on an interim basis from the ill-fated Markus Fiedler at FCM in October and was promoted to head coach after seven points in four games. With 13 more points, he initially allowed the lagging Magdeburg team to move out of the threatened area, but development has now stalled.
« We have full confidence in our team around Petrik Sander and Pascal Ibold. The collaboration with the team works, as was also demonstrated in the first half of the season when we scored ten points in the last four games. This phase was not a coincidence, but the result of good and trusting cooperation. Today more than ever we need everyone’s solidarity, which also made us strong in the 2022/23 seasons and 2023/24 – although “We recovered after a “7-0 defeat against KSC,” added Schork. Next Friday (6:30 p.m.), Magdeburg will face promotion candidate SV Elversberg.
« After our victory at Greuther Fürth, we recently suffered three painful defeats in a row – against Bielefeld, Schalke 04 and Karlsruher SC. These results also put us in the current situation in the table, in which we are now in penultimate place. The large number of goals conceded is particularly worrying for us – this is where we must exert our influence and improve our content, » Schork explained. With 47 goals conceded, FCM has the second worst defense in the league, and no team has conceded more goals in the second half of the season.
The offensive, however, has clearly improved, notably thanks to the return from injury of Mateusz Zukowski (24 years old). FCM scored 14 goals in the new year, only third-placed SV Darmstadt 98 (16) proved even more dangerous. « The league is extremely balanced and the table also shows the small point difference, where eight teams are currently close to each other, so that with one or two victories the situation will change quickly again, » Schork said optimistically.
However, the unrest in the Magdeburg community is not diminishing. « The overall sporting responsibility is in my hands. It must therefore be faced even in difficult phases. The media landscape also shows individuals – depending on the sporting situation – and exaggerates or condemns them accordingly », justified the sporting director. The club then criticized an article in the « Volksstimme » from February, according to which defense chief Jean Hugonet (26) wants to pursue his Bundesliga dream and leave FCM for free this summer.
1. FC Magdeburg rejects Hugonet speculation
The club said “false allegations have been spread”. Hugonet never came to Milan to visit the San Siro. Private visits to stadiums in cities like Berlin, Leipzig, Wolfsburg, Hannover or Zwickau would also have no connection with transfer rumors or intentions for a change. Furthermore, Hugonet has not yet made a decision regarding its future. The Frenchman has never commented on the allegations made and to date there is no desire for change on the part of the player, no initiative in this direction and no requests from other clubs.
« We categorically reject the recently released statements. It is in no way acceptable for our player to be discredited by baseless and speculative allegations. The statements concerned are speculative and have no factual basis. 1. FC Magdeburg expressly distances itself from such speculation regarding its player Jean Hugonet, » the statement continued.
