With Alexander Wehrle, the managing director leaves 1. FC Köln KgaA and joins VfB Stuttgart. He will have to be replaced in the cathedral city for the time being.
The now publicly communicated departure of Alexander Wehrle as managing director of 1. FC Köln KgaA comes as no surprise. The offer from Stuttgart gave the 46-year-old the esteem he obviously no longer enjoyed at the Geißböcken. He turned down an offer to extend his contract by just one year there, instead intensifying talks with his former club VfB.
Wehrle will not be in breach of contract – whenever he leaves – a clause in his employment paper allows him to withdraw before the end of his contract in 2023, as soon as the management is increased in personnel. This has now happened with the appointments of Christian Keller (43) and Philipp Türoff (45).
With Wehrle, FC is leaving a man who should not really be let go. Visionary, smart, outstanding in the acquisition of new sponsors and imaginative in fighting economic crises – Wehrle’s merits are undisputed.
The fact that a handful of traditionalists have repeatedly accused him of wanting to sell the club is untenable. There is no reliable statement in this direction. On the contrary, Wehrle repeatedly emphasised that the mandate of the sovereign – the general meeting – is binding for everyone. Even the cudgels that leading politicians of the city of Cologne threw between his legs regarding the expansion of the infrastructure did not discourage Wehrle. He will fight this battle until the last day in Cologne.
Clever Modeste deals
When fans cheer Anthony Modeste today, many forget that it was Wehrle who first sold the Frenchman to China for almost 30 million euros and then brought him back at his request without a transfer fee. The fact that he was berated when things were not going well in sporting terms did not bother him any more than it does now that he is pushing himself to the fore.
Wehrle was one of the first in the league to work with start-ups in many areas, who profitably intensified e-sports and placed FC socially, politically and socially as a much-heard voice in the city.
He will leave all this behind. It is unclear exactly when his time in Cologne will end. Those who switch to a competitor are usually released immediately. FC cannot afford this. Even if not much will happen in the coming transfer period, the licensing (until 15 March) and the transfer summer have to be prepared. Both are difficult with the newcomers: Türoff may be a top executive, already worked for companies like SAP and Red Bull. The Bundesliga, however, is new territory for him. It is to be expected that colleague Keller will shorten his sabbatical and not start in Cologne on 1 April 2022. With a view to the coming season, a decision without an alternative.
There is a tidbit on the side with Türoff. As chief financial officer of the shoe manufacturer Birkenstock, he accompanied its takeover by an American-French investment company in February 2021. So he knows how to get investors on board. He is ahead of Wehrle in that respect.
