Bundesliga: Markus Weinzierl named new Stuttgart boss
October 9, 2018
Just two days after the dismissal of Tayfun Korkut, the Bundesliga's bottom club have a new coach. Stuttgart have announced that former Schalke and Augsburg boss Markus Weinzierl is the new man in charge.
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Weinzierl, 43, has been out of work since being sacked by Schalke after his sole season in charge of the Royal Blues ended in a disappointing 10th-placed finish.
That came after an impressive spell at Augsburg, where the former Jahn Regensburg boss recorded finishes of 15th, eighth, fifth and 12th and led his side to a first ever win against Bayern Munich and a debut European campaign. Augsburg progressed through the Europa League group stage before losing 1-0 on aggregate to Premier League giants Liverpool.
"I'm really looking forward to the task.," Weinzierl told Stuttgart's official website. "VfB is a big club that is currently in a difficult sporting situation. Nevertheless, I am convinced of the potential of the team and the club. I've been watching the Bundesliga intensively over the past few months and am eager to start working with my new team. "
Bundesliga Matchday 7 in pictures
Saturday was a good day for the Bundesliga's Americans, with Weston McKennie and Bobby Wood among the goals. But the game of the day was undoubtedly in Dortmund, where the hosts edged an incredible seven goal thriller.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Becker
Fortuna Düsseldorf 0 - 2 Schalke
It took Weston McKennie 33 games to open his Schalke account, now he can't stop hitting the net. The American youngster opened the scoring in this one after scoring the winner against Lokomotiv Moscow in midweek. Guido Burgstaller made it safe for Schalke, who have now won three in a row without conceding.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Becker
Hannover 3 -1 Stuttgart
But McKennie wasn't the only American having fun on Saturday. Bobby Wood (left) was handed his first start since moving to Hannover and rewarded his coach Andre Breitenreiter with quickfire headed double before halftime. Mario Gomez pulled one back for Stuttgart after the break but Ihlas Bebou made it safe late on as the hosts held on for their first league win of the season.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/O. Hardt
Borussia Dortmund 4 - 3 Augsburg
Paco Alcacer's stunning injury time freekick completed his hat-trick and won his team a pulsating game at Signal Iduna Park. Dortmund twice trailed their visitors before Alcacer and Mario Götze (in his first league appearance of the season) put them ahead for the first time. When Roman Bürki spilt Michael Gregoritsch's header in to the net on 87 minutes, it looked all over. Not quite.
Image: Reuters/L.Kuegeler
Bayern Munich 0 - 3 Borussia Mönchengladbach
If before it was a blip, it's now most certainly a crisis by Bayern Munich's lofty standards. An excellent 9th minute strike from French forward Alassane Plea gave the visitors the lead before Thiago's error allowed Lars Stindl to score on his return from a severe ankle injury. The comeback many expected never came and Patrick Herrmann completed the rout late on.
Image: imago/Eibner
Mainz 0 - 0 Hertha Berlin
A game low on quality, chances and - from the looks of it - spectators saw these sides share the points. Even Ondrej Duda, the Bundesliga's top scorer before this weekend couldn't summon up anything to steal the points. The result keeps Hertha in the Champions League spots and Mainz safely in midtable.
Image: Imago/T. Frey
Werder Bremen 2-0 Wolfsburg
Davy Klaassen showed how quickly he is settling in at his new club by delivering a game-winning performance in a gritty match. The Dutchman's goal on the volley in the box 10 minutes before the break gave Werder confidence in a game where Wolfsburg had passages of pressure. Forty-year-old Claudio Pizarro came off the bench to set up fellow sub Johannes Eggestein for the second late on.
Image: Imago/Nordphoto
Freiburg 0-0 Bayer Leverkusen
There are still big questions hovering over Heiko Herrlich and Bayer Leverkusen after a disappointing draw away at Freiburg. Lucas Alario had a couple of good chances for the visitors while Luca Waldschmidt struck the post late on for the hosts, whose coach Christian Streich ended the day the happier of the two bosses.
Image: Imago/Eibner
Hoffenheim 1-2 Eintracht Frankfurt
After 2-1 home defeats to RB Leipzig and Manchester City, Hoffenheim lost again by the same score at home to Eintracht Frankfurt. Frankfurt took a two-goal lead in Sinsheim thanks to a long-range lob from Ante Rebic and a low drive from Luka Jovic. Rebic later saw red while Hoffenheim pulled a goal back through Reiss Nelson, but Eintracht hung on for a third straight win in all competitions.
"We will learn from this," promised Nuremberg coach Michael Köllner after his side crashed to a 7-0 defeat away at Borussia Dortmund two weeks ago - but few lessons appear to have been learned as "The Club" shipped six in the Red Bull Arena. Marcel Sabitzer and Timo Werner both scored twice for RB, the latter also seeing a penalty saved after Nuremberg were reduced to ten men in the second half.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/R. Michael
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Sporting director Michael Reschke was delighted to have got his man: "With Markus Weinzierl we have signed a coach who is hungry for success, who knows the Bundesliga well and knows what is important in our situation," he said.
"We are convinced that we have got the right coach for our VfB with Markus Weinzierl. He will develop our team. "
Stuttgart's decision to change course comes after a miserable start to the 2018-19 campaign that has seen them pick up just one win, against 10-man Werder Bremen, and score just six goals in their seven league games.
Tayfun Korkut only took charge in January and initially impressed, leading a relegation-threatened team to seventh place before extending his contract in June and leaving win a win percentage of 45.
Weinzierl will become the Swabians' eleventh coach in the last five years and welcomes unbeaten league leaders Borussia Dortmund in his first match in charge on October 20, after the international break.