In Dresden, the causes for the sporting decline were recently investigated. The result was that Coach Alexander Schmidt may stay. Captain Sebastian Mai, however, will be relieved of his duties.
“After the defeats against Sandhausen and Kiel, it was now time not to go back to business as usual, but to work through the current situation intensively in different rounds and with different people – and to make fundamental decisions,” said Ralf Becker, Dynamo Dresden’s managing director of sport.
While head coach Alexander Schmidt had continued to be given the vote of confidence, the analysis revealed that a change of captain could help the team put its sporting misery behind it after nine defeats from the past ten competitive matches.
Strongly set, Joker Mai still has deficits
Sebastian Mai thus vacates his position for Yannick Stark. The 27-year-old centre-back, who former coach Markus Kauczinski appointed as captain at the start of the 2020/21 season, makes way for the 31-year-old midfielder. Stark has been in the starting eleven in all 13 of the Saxons’ second-division games so far, with May making just eight appearances, six of which were substitute appearances for the Dresden native.
Mai’s injury woes in preparation and early in the season ended his regular status, but coach Schmidt still stuck with Mai as captain. Recently, he fought his way back into the team, but in his recent short appearances, the defensive giant (1.93 metres tall, 93 kg) was noticeable for his physical deficits.
In our current sporting situation, it is of particular importance that the captain is on the pitch as an undisputed regular and is also an ‘extended arm’ of the coach there.
This is now to be worked through by Mai – and without the apparently burdensome post of captain. “In our current sporting situation, it is of particular importance that the captain is on the pitch as an undisputed regular and is also an ‘extended arm” of the coach there,” Schmidt explained in a statement from the club.
Despite the long-term injuries to defensive players Tim Knipping (torn cruciate ligament) and Kevin Ehlers (torn muscle fibre, only twice in the squad) and the temporary absence of Michael Akoto (torn muscle fibre), Mai did not re-establish himself as a permanent force in the Dynamo defence. Preference was given to Michael Sollbauer and, most recently, alternately Antonis Aidonis or Akoto.
The logical choice to succeed Mai is the previous vice-captain Stark, who had also led the Schmidt eleven onto the field recently. As of now, the two vice-captains are Sollbauer and Christoph Daferner. The team council, which in addition to the captain trio also includes Sebastian Mai, Chris Löwe and Knipping, will be expanded to include SGD keeper Kevin Broll.
