Still without a win, Arminia Bielefeld find themselves in 17th place. Coach Frank Kramer is heavily criticised by the fansbut for Samir Arabi, a debate about the coach is no debate at all.
At the press conference before Saturday’s game at VfB Stuttgart, Arminia’s sporting director found “The question of the coach does not arise. With not a pore in our body do we think about making a change at the position. That is completely independent of the result of the match in Stuttgart and also the subsequent matches,” said the 42-year-old. “We are acting out of full conviction. We have a clear idea behind it. And we are not backing away from that. We are happy with the work of the whole coaching team. “
Every year a relegation battle?
For Arabi, it’s now a case of fighting together and with all our might to make another season of Bundesliga football a reality at Bielefeld. “It will be like this every year,” he explained. “Of course we are unhappy with the points haul, there are things that can be optimised. We are working on that and hope that positive results will come out of it as soon as possible.”
Frank Kramer has not been left cold by the fans’ expressions of displeasure, but his focus is fully on the encounter in Stuttgart. “I would like to thank the sporting management for the extraordinary vote of confidence,” said the coach, who will do everything he can to be successful in sporting terms.
However, he and Arminia have good memories of Swabia. Because 22 May was a holiday for DSC. With a 2:0 win at VfB Stuttgart, the Bielefeld team managed to stay in the Bundesliga in the last match of last season. Since that date, however, the East Westphalians have been waiting for a win in Germany’s top division. “Anything that gives you a good feeling, we’ll take with us,” said Kramer. “But it’s a completely different game and a different situation. “
Vasiliadis in the starting eleven? Patience with Pieper
The team could have a different look compared to the Mainz game. A return of centre-back Joakim Nilsson is likely, also a use of right-back Cedric Brunner is being considered. In addition, Sebastian Vasiliadis could find himself in the starting eleven for the first time after the German-Greek played his first ever twelve minutes for Arminia against Mainz. Kramer will not shake central defender Amos Pieper, who had fluffed several times recently. “Amos is an important player, we keep a close eye on his performances and his workload,” Kramer said. “You have to give him the confidence. “
There is good news on the financial side. With NTT Data Business Solutions AG, Arminia can welcome the twelfth member of the Ostwestfalen alliance. “It is the first new alliance partner,” says finance director Markus Rejek. This makes the company a co-partner of DSC Arminia GmbH & Co. KG, and the whole thing goes hand in hand with the capital increase of the match operating company by two million euros.
