Jakob Fimpel is taking over as coach of FC Schalke 04 on an interim basis. The former U23 coach of the Royal Blues is in crisis with the second division reserve team in the Regionalliga West.
Karel Geraerts out, Jakob Fimpel in! Schalke 04 is in crisis in the 2nd Bundesliga and released its coach on Saturday morning. The current U23 coach Fimpel will take over the team on an interim basis until the international break. However, the 35-year-old is starting with a handicap, as he has had a terrible record with Schalke’s reserves in recent weeks.
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The season in the Regionalliga West began very promisingly for the U23s, as they got off to a perfect start with victories against SC Wiedenbrück (2:0) and KFC Uerdingen (2:1). This was followed by a 2:2 draw against SV Rödinghausen, but since then Schalke’s reserve team has been in crisis.
Schalke’s interim coach has been with the club for eleven years
Fimpel and Co. recently suffered five defeats in a row and conceded a total of 13 goals. Schalke, on the other hand, only scored two goals themselves, which meant they dropped to 14th place. Just on Friday evening, the U23s lost 1-0 to Wuppertaler SV. There is a possibility that the team could drop to second-to-last place in the table this weekend if their opponents win.
Fimpel has been with the Royal Blues for eleven years. He started as a coach in the Schalke youth team (2013 – 2016) before becoming assistant coach of the U17 team under Stephan Schmidt (2016/17 season) and assistant to Onur Cinel in the U23 team (2017/18). Fimpel then returned to the Schalke youth team as a coach for almost four years.
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NRW duel and second division cracker
After the separation from Torsten Fröhling, he was promoted in March 2022 and has been head coach of Schalke’s reserve team since then. Fimpel was on the sidelines for them a total of 84 times with an average of 1.49 points. The 35-year-old finished his first full season in 9th place in the table. Schalke’s U23 finished last season in 5th place.
The 35-year-old will make his debut next Saturday at 8.30 p.m. against second division newcomers Preußen Münster. A week later, at the same time, the cracker against Hertha BSC is scheduled (both games LIVE on SPORTS1). Then the international break follows.
Schalke boss trusts Fimpel
“We have known his work in the U23s very well for a long time, he will prepare the team well for the two games before the international break,” CEO Matthias Tillmann is quoted as saying in a statement from Schalke.
