Gladbach sporting director resigns with team at bottom of Bundesliga

MÖNCHENGLADBACH, Germany (AP) — Borussia Mönchengladbach sports director Roland Virkus has resigned after the team’s poor start to the Bundesliga season.

Gladbach, last in the division after five rounds, said Tuesday that its presidential and supervisory boards released Virkus from his duties at his own request.

He follows the coach, Gerardo Seoane, who was fired earlier this month after just three league games because the team’s winless streak in the Bundesliga had extended to 10 games going back to April.

The record is now 12 league games without a victory after a promising 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen under interim coach Eugen Polanski was followed by last weekend’s 6-4 loss at home to Eintracht Frankfurt, when the team conceded six goals before responding.

Virkus was shown watching that performance in total despondence.

“I’ve always said that the club comes above everything else, and that’s why I’ve made this decision,” Virkus said in a statement.

Virkus had been working at Gladbach since 1990, when he started as a youth coach before taking over the club’s academy in 2004. He was appointed sporting director in 2022.

“Borussia would like to thank Roland Virkus for his dedication and commitment across so many different areas over the past 35 years,” the club said.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer