Nine days after being fired by Cologne, Achim Beierlorzer is back in the Bundesliga as coach of Mainz.
Beierlorzer takes over with Mainz in 16th place in the league, one place above Cologne. Mainz is trying to avoid dropping out of the top division for the first time in 11 seasons.
Beierlorzer says “in this business things can sometimes move quickly, especially if it’s just a good fit” and adds he wants a hard-working, passionate approach from his new team.
Mainz parted company with Sandro Schwarz on Nov. 10, a week after an 8-0 loss to Leipzig. Mainz’s last win was against Beierlorzer-coached Cologne on Oct. 25.
Cologne is bidding for a fresh start in the Bundesliga after appointing Markus Gisdol as coach and Horst Heldt as sporting director.
Cologne, which is in danger of a swift return to the second division, announced on Monday that Heldt and Gisdol signed contracts through June 2021, with the latter’s deal applicable only for the Bundesliga.
“With this, the sporting leadership has been newly aligned to achieve the goal of staying up,” the club said.
Heldt and Gisdol replace the recently departed Armin Veh as sporting director and Achim Beierlorzer as coach. Beierlorzer wasn’t out of work for long after being appointed Mainz coach on Monday.
Gisdol previously coached Hamburger SV and Hoffenheim, while Heldt, who was Stuttgart sporting director when it won the Bundesliga in 2007, is best known for his work at Schalke.
Cologne, promoted as second-division champion last season, has lost eight of its 11 games on its return to the Bundesliga, while it was knocked out of the German Cup by fourth-tier Saarbrücken on Oct. 29.