RB Leipzig have confirmed the sacking of their manager, Marco Rose, amid a disappointing season in the Bundesliga and in Europe.
“Marco Rose has been relieved of his duties as RB Leipzig head coach with immediate effect,” said a club statement. Later on Sunday, Zsolt Low was announced as Rose’s interim replacement until the end of the season.
“We’ve still got the chance to achieve our goals in two competitions,” Low said in a statement from the club. “We’ll do everything we can to reach the DFB-Pokal final in Berlin and get the most out of the remaining Bundesliga matches.”
Leipzig are sixth in the Bundesliga table after a 1-0 defeat at Borussia Mönchengladbach, who moved above them into fifth place. Germany is likely to receive four Champions League places next season; Mainz are fourth, three points ahead of Leipzig with a game in hand.
The club are thought to be interested in the Crystal Palace manager, Oliver Glasner, who has previously managed Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany. Jürgen Klopp, Red Bull’s head of global soccer, is believed to be an admirer of the 50-year-old, who led Frankfurt to the Europa League title in 2022.
“We have believed in our cooperation with Marco and his team for a very long time and, up to now, tried everything to turn things around together,” said RB Leipzig’s managing director for sport, Marcel Schäfer. Interim arrival Low’s last role was as an assistant to Thomas Tuchel at Bayern Munich last season.
“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,” Schäfer added. “We’d like to thank Marco and his coaching team for the success we enjoyed together and their commitment to the club.”
Leipzig had been expected to part ways with Rose at the end of the season, but appear to have acted in an effort to rescue a top-four finish. The club have also confirmed that Rose’s assistant coaches Alexander Zickler, Marco Kurth and Frank Geideck have also left the club, along with the head of first-team football, Frank Aehlig.
The 48-year-old Rose was appointed by Leipzig in September 2022, replacing Domenico Tedesco. The former Dortmund, Gladbach and Red Bull Salzburg coach guided Leipzig to the German Cup in the 2022-23 season – defeating Glasner’s Eintracht side in the final, and adding the German Super Cup in 2023.
Leipzig have reached the German Cup semi-finals this term, and travel to Stuttgart on Wednesday to compete for a place in the final. Their performance in the inaugural Champions League “league phase” was calamitous though, winning only one of their eight games and finishing in 32nd place to make an early exit.
In January, Rose had expressed excitement at working with Klopp as the former Liverpool manager began work at Red Bull. “We’re looking forward to his network, to his experience, to him as a person,” said Rose, who played under Klopp at Mainz. “It’s always good to get new input and learn something new.”
Ito injury adds to Bayern defensive woes
The Bayern Munich defender Hiroki Ito has suffered a broken metatarsal bone in his right foot, just weeks after his comeback from a similar injury.
Ito, who broke a metatarsal in July after arriving from Stuttgart and only returned last month, came off the bench in Saturday’s 3-2 win over St Pauli but was injured late in the game and will now be “unavailable for a lengthy period.”
He is the third Bayern defender ruled out in past days after the injuries to Dayot Upamecano and Alphonso Davies while on international duty just over a week ago. Bayern, who lead the Bundesliga by six points, face Inter in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on 8 April.
