Martin Schmidt replaces Manuel Baum as Augsburg head coach
Augsburg have announced that former Mainz and Wolfsburg coach Martin Schmidt will take over with immediate effect after Manuel Baum and his staff were relieved of their duties on Tuesday.
Schmidt, who last coached in the Bundesliga during a five-month stint with the Wolves in 2017/18, will take charge of his first training session on Wednesday morning, as 15th-placed Augsburg prepare for a tough trip to high-flying Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday evening.
Baum was dismissed on Tuesday following heavy league defeats at the hands of Nuremberg (3-0) and Hoffenheim (4-0), even though Augsburg had managed to beat Borussia Dortmund (2-1) and draw at RB Leipzig (0-0) in March. Assistant coach and former Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann has also left the club, along with technical director Stephan Schwarz.
"Over the last weeks and months, we have done everything we can to resolve this difficult situation together," explained sporting director Stefan Reuter. "After the 4-0 loss to Hoffenheim and a run of inconsistent results, we were no longer convinced that the current coaching team were the right long-term fit. So we have decided to make a clean break, to get back on track for a successful end of the season and safeguard FCA's future."
Augsburg, who were promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time in their history in 2010/11, are currently four points above the relegation play-off place. After Frankfurt, they will face VfB Stuttgart (h), Bayer Leverkusen (h), Schalke (a), Hertha Berlin (h) and Schmidt's former side Wolfsburg (a) as they bid for a ninth consecutive season in Germany's top flight.