RB Leipzig have sacked Marco Rose.
The club also confirmed his assistants Alexander Zickler, Marco Kurth, Frank Geideck and Frank Aehlig have all been let go.
Leipzig’s decision to axe Rose came less than 24 hours after a 1-0 loss to Borussia Monchengladbach.
The 48-year-old departs with Leipzig sitting 6th in the Bundesliga and three points off the Champions League places.
“We have believed in our co-operation with Marco and his team for a very long time and, up to now, tried everything to turn things around together,” Marcel Shafer, Leipzig’s Managing Director for Sport, said.
“Given the development and the continued lack of results, we’re all firmly convinced that we need new impetus for the remainder of the campaign in order to achieve our aims for the season.
“We’d like to thank Marco and his coaching team for the past two and a half years, the success we enjoyed together and their commitment to the club.”
Rose’s axing marked the first firing of Jurgen Klopp‘s reign as Red Bull’s Global Head of Soccer, a job he began on January 1.
It undoubtedly would have been a gut-wrenching decision for Klopp to make given the latter managed Rose for several years during their time together at Mainz 05.
In fact, German outlet Bild reported earlier in March Klopp persuaded Leipzig’s decision-makers to stick with Rose after Leipzig slipped to a 2-1 loss against Mainz on March 1.
The defeat reportedly prompted Leipzig’s management to hold a crisis meeting to discuss Rose’s future but ultimately elected against sacking him thanks to Klopp’s plea.
But it only proved to be a stay of execution for Rose, who departs having led Leipzig for 125 games.
More to follow…
