March 18 – Belgian club Cercle Brugge have dismissed manager Ferdinand Feldhofer after the club finished 13th in the Pro League table, ultimately falling into the relegation play-offs.
A surprise appointment to succeed Miron Muslić, the Austrian coach survived just three months at the head of the Green and Black entity.
A 3-0 defeat at the weekend condemned the club to the relegation playdown, and following a run of eight games without a win Feldhofer was sacked on Monday.
In a statement, the club wrote: “The Austrian was appointed head coach in mid-December with the intention of getting Cercle out of the danger zone as quickly as possible. Despite a good start, this did not work and Groen-Zwart ended in a disappointing 13th place in the rankings after the regular competition.”
“The succession of Ferdinand Feldhofer will be communicated shortly. Cercle thanks Ferdinand for his efforts and wishes him much success in his further career.”
In Europe, Cercle Brugge were eliminated by Poland’s Jagiellonia Bialystok in the Conference League last week. After a 3-0 defeat in the first leg, the Belgian club won 2-0 at home, falling just short of forcing extra time. Feldhofer held previous roles at Rapid Wien and Dinamo Tbilisi.
On March 30, Cercle Brugge will open their playdown campaign with a trip to local rivals KV Kortrijk.
Contact the writer of this story Samindra Kunti at moc.l1742344353labto1742344353ofdlr1742344353owedi1742344353sni@i1742344353tnuk.1742344353ardni1742344353mas1742344353