Bang at FC Augsburg: Coach Thorup and sporting director Jurendic gone

Bundesliga football club FC Augsburg has surprisingly parted ways with coach Jess Thorup and sporting director Marinko Jurendic. It's not yet clear who will succeed them. Rumor has it that Sandro Wagner of the German Football Association (DFB) could be a possible candidate.

Rumors have been circulating on news feeds for the past few days. Then, on Friday evening at 6 p.m., FC Augsburg released the serious announcement, which came as a shock to the otherwise quiet Bundesliga club: The club is parting ways with its successful coach Jess Thorup and sporting director Marinko Jurendic, effective immediately.

The decision was made after several days of intensive season analysis. The club's management, led by managing director Michael Ströll, was reportedly particularly dissatisfied with the club's unattractive style of play. Thorup failed to completely rid FC Augsburg of its "dim-as-nails" image. "The decision was anything but easy for us," Ströll stated. However, for the club's "development and direction," changes were needed – both in the coaching and sporting director positions.

In terms of results, however, Thorup can boast the club's third-best season ever with 43 points, and he has also given FCA its best points average since promotion to the Bundesliga in 2011. Thus, the departure is certainly surprising. The coach (in office since October 2023) and Jurendic (sporting director since August 2023) had at times even transformed the major relegation candidate of recent years into a contender for a European Cup spot. At the beginning of 2025, FC Augsburg was one of the strongest teams in Europe, with its run of eleven Bundesliga games without a defeat (a club record!).

And goalkeeper Finn Dahmen managed to become one of the continent's most notable goalkeepers during this time, with a run of 683 minutes without conceding a goal . England coach Thomas Tuchel is said to have also noticed him, as he holds both a German and a British passport .

And under Swiss sporting director Jurendic, Augsburg have pulled off several transfer coups: Chrislain Matsima, for example, has developed into one of the league's top central defenders, while Dimitrios Giannoulis, Cédric Zesiger, and Keven Schlotterbeck have also stabilized the defense with top performances. Alexis Claude-Maurice proved to be a real hit in attack. And in terms of development, Jurendic has also brought in the highly talented Mert Kömür, Mahmut Kücküksahin, and Noahkai Banks from the youth system.

Alongside the highs, the negative results have also stuck with them recently: In the last eight matches of this season, Thorup's team picked up only five points, and even lost the last four. In the end, this was enough to finish 12th in the table. Under Thorup, FCA was thus at its best in a long time, finishing 11th in 2023/24 and 12th in 2024/25, but will also not be allowed to compete in Europe next season.

Nothing has yet been announced regarding the successors to the two. Rumor has it that former Unterhaching promotion coach Sandro Wagner, who will be leaving his position as assistant to national coach Julian Nagelsmann at the German national team this summer, could be considered as the new coach. However, Augsburg has not yet commented on this either.

Wagner, who continues to live in Unterhaching, just outside Munich, would undoubtedly be a coup for FC Augsburg. He's somewhat the opposite of the "grey mouse" in German football. His tenure with the German Football Association ends after the Nations League Final Four in Munich and Stuttgart from June 4 to 8.

League leadership and relegation battles, current fixtures, results and live tickers, top scorer lists, mileage and tackle statistics and much more: Football in the BR24Sport results center .

Source: BR24Sport 23.05.2025 - 18:30

• BR
• football
• Bundesliga
• FC Augsburg