Status: 04/10/2023 2:41 p.m
Second division soccer team Hansa Rostock parted ways with sports director Martin Pieckenhagen on Easter Monday. The club announced this in a press release.
The 51-year-old, whose contract runs until the end of December 2023, has been released from his duties with immediate effect. According to the club, the provisional management of the sporting area at Hansa Rostock will be taken over by CEO Robert Marien and squad planner Kevin Meinhardt until further notice. The new appointment should be promoted promptly and in close cooperation with the Supervisory Board.
“Sporty reorientation” at Hansa
“Following ongoing assessment and analysis of the current season, it became clear that the development of the sporting area has unfortunately fallen well short of expectations,” said Rainer Lemmer, Chairman of the Rostocker Supervisory Board. “Therefore we felt compelled to react and are planning the new season – regardless of league affiliation – with a personnel realignment,” added Lemmer.
Further information
Hansa had recently employed the third coach this season in Alois Schwartz. Above all, the change from promotion coach Jens Härtel to Patrick Glöckner last November had brought Pieckenhagen massive criticism from the fans.
Rise, relegation and crash under Pieckenhagen
The former Hansa professional took over the post of sports director in January 2019. After promotion to the second Bundesliga after nine years in the third division under his leadership in the 2020/2021 season, they stayed up in the table in 13th place in 2021/2022.
The Mecklenburgers, who have been waiting for a win for seven games, are currently second to last in the table. At the weekend, Rostock lost to Holstein Kiel 2:3 (1:2) and also remained without a point in the second game under their new coach Schwartz.
VIDEO: Home bankruptcy exacerbates the Hansa crisis: Rostock is defeated by Kiel (4 min)
