Mirko Slomka took Hannover from the brink of relegation to the brink of the Champions League, but a slow start to the season that has them flirting with relegation has ended his time at the Lower Saxony club. Hannover announced on Friday that it had parted ways with the manager and that a new one will be appointed “in the coming days.”
Hannover fire manager Mirko Slomka
An away mark that netted no points and one win in his last 11 spelled the end for Mirko Slomka.
Alexander Hassenstein
“It was not an easy decision to make, but we all felt that we needed to make a change,” sporting director Dirk Dufner said in a statement.
Hannover are in 13th place, five points clear of 16th and the relegation playoff, thanks to a putrid away record. They have lost all eight away matches and recently, that form has carried over at home, too. The 96 have won just one of their last 11 matches in all competitions as injuries to Mame Biriam Diouf and Didier Ya Konan sunk the club.
“I want to thank Mirko Slomka personally, who saved Hannover 96 from being relegated to the second division and led the club to two successive UEFA Europa League campaigns. This success will always be closely linked to him,” said president Martin Kind.
When Slomka took over, the club was in awful shape and not only did they twice qualify for the Europa League under his stewardship, including a run to the quarterfinals once, but they barely missed out on the Champions League in 2011, finishing just behind Bayern Munich for third place.
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