Berlin -
The Hertha Berlin has appointed Jens Lehmann, former goalkeeper of the German national team, to take the position that Jürgen Klinsmann left vacant on the club's supervisory board in the Bundesliga.
Lehmann assumes the role of sports advisor to the club. The announcement made on Sunday coincided with the appointment of agent Marc Kosicke to the supervisory board. Among Kosicke's clients are coaches Jürgen Klopp and Julian Nagelsmann of Liverpool and Leipzig, respectively.
Klinsmann wanted to return to his executive role at the club after resigning as Hertha's coach in February, after only coaching in nine games.
The new owner Lars Windhorst, who injected $250 million into the club last year, said that the abrupt way in which the former coach of Germany and the United States resigned undermined trust between them. Klinsmann, who resides in the United States, rejected a proposal from the Ecuadorian Football Federation at the end of 2019 to take over as coach of the national team.
- Jurgen Klinsmann is no longer coming to Ecuador and the Ecuadorean Football Federation must find a new coach
Windhorst is confident of achieving better results with Lehmann. The former Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal player, with a career of 394 games in the Bundesliga and 148 in the Premier League, was working as a football commentator.
"I gladly accept Lars Windhorst's offer to help with the growth of Hertha Berlin," said 50-year-old Lehmann in a statement. "I see it as one of the most interesting projects in football."
The Hertha's season has been marked by turmoil.
Ante Covic was in charge of the bench before Klinsmann took over with great fanfare on November 27. Klinsmann unexpectedly resigned when he did not receive more power within the club.
The team continued to struggle under the direction of Alexander Nouri in their next four games and Bruno Labbadia became their fourth coach on April 9. Labbadia has not yet made his debut.
The Bundesliga, which was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic on March 13, is scheduled to resume on Saturday, May 16, when Hertha visits Hoffenheim. (D)