After 90 days in office: That’s why Schultz failed in the FCB chaos

Already in the first weeks after Schultz took office, those responsible had major doubts about the condition of the team. Discussions about a possible exemption had already been made before the match against FCZ in early September. Schultz, the lovable buddy, the human catcher, was not strict enough with the players, hardly gave his professionals reasons for sensitive decisions and was generally ill-prepared.

Chaos club with unpredictable leadership

The match against Yverdon is seen as a symbol. FCB lost 2:3 a week ago, showed a shockingly weak performance, missed everything, no fight, no mentality. The main responsibility for this lies with the coach, who, unlike his opposite number Marco Schällibaum, cannot get the team to the point.

The preparation for the match was reportedly miserable. Almost no FCB player actually knew what to expect at the Stade Municipal. Some of the many new players, when they saw the small stadium, probably thought it would be another cup exhibition like against Bosporus or Saint-Blaise. Two of the few games Schultz won in his short tenure.

Speaking of poor preparation: if Schultz had worked intensively with FCB beforehand, he should have known what to expect on the Rhine Knee. A chaos club with an unpredictable leadership. A club that has an impulsive chairman in David Degen. Who has had five different coaches in his two years. A man who loses his nerve even after a 3-0 win against Lausanne and sends the successful and popular original Basel resident Patrick Frame into the desert.

His dismissal was a mistake, Degen said months later. Also hire Schultz. Because with the 46-year-old, FCB is bringing in a coach who has neither the Super League nor the necessary professional experience. His only spell as head coach included 92 competitive games at St. Pauli in the second Bundesliga. At the club where he is a living legend, he was able to work in a safe place and did a good job until he was released. Because those responsible gave him the time he needed. He was able to implement his ideas and play attractive football.

Epee and birds are the main culprits

Time that Schultz never had at FCB. At the end of July, in the second game of the season, it is all or nothing in the Conference League qualification against Tobol Kostanay. A situation that was unknown to Schultz, who was never in the international spotlight. Even two months later, the FCB coach was still impressed by the performance against the Kazakhs. The FCB officials generously ignore the fact that he had a half-finished team at the time.

David Degen and Heiko Vogel are primarily responsible for the current misery. Because the team was in ruins at the end of August. Because probably even the successful coach Urs Fischer could not have formed a successful team from these players. At the training camp in Seebach, Austria, Schultz sometimes even has to call on the equipment manager to rehearse tactical exercises due to a lack of alternatives.

On Thursday, only two players were in the starting line-up against FCL, Marwin Hitz and Taulant Xhaka, who already played for FCB last season. At that time, Basel reached the semi-finals of the Conference League. And Timo Schultz is in the stadium for the first leg in Florence and sees how FCB are in an excellent position for the second leg after a 2-1 away win.

False promises

At that moment, Schultz was probably really looking forward to his new job at FCB. Because David Degen promised in May that he wanted to keep 90 percent of the selection together. The result was the opposite. If Schultz had known at the time how credible Degen’s words were, he would hardly have become involved in the suicide mission in Basel.

This ends after 90 days. Sports director Heiko Vogel will lead FCB onto the field against Lausanne-Ouchy on Sunday and will remain coach until further notice. The Palatinate native is the right man for this. Because he has to be responsible for the motley crew that calls itself the FCB team.

Choosing Schultz was a mistake. Now Vogel must prove that he had a better hand in picking players. And he must prove that the abysmal results were actually only due to Schultz – and not to the risky transfer strategy.
If this doesn’t work, Vogel will soon be a thing of the past.