Friedhelm Funkel has accepted that he wrongly named Robert Schäfer in his account of Fortuna Düsseldorf ending his spell as coach in January 2020. The 72-year-old had described the decision as the worst dismissal of his career, but Schäfer had left the club eight months earlier.
Funkel said in a recent interview that, after a 3-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen, sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel informed him of the decision and that Schäfer had lacked the courage to do so himself. He also recalled overturning a chair and calling club officials “cowardly pigs”.
Schäfer said he was no longer employed by Fortuna when Funkel was relieved of his duties. He left in May 2019, having previously extended the coach’s contract. Thomas Röttgermann, the club chairman at the time, held board responsibility when the change was made.
Pfannenstiel recalls a difficult but controlled meeting
Pfannenstiel, now sporting director at Aberdeen, also disputed the description of the meeting. He said he and Röttgermann had revisited the events and remembered Funkel being emotional and disappointed, with the door shut more forcefully than usual as he left.
But Pfannenstiel said no chair was thrown and no insult involving “pig” was used. He added that such language would not fit the Funkel he knew as a polite and friendly person.
Fortuna had lost five of their previous six matches and were bottom of the Bundesliga table when the club acted. Pfannenstiel said the decision was communicated directly, face to face, and had been agreed with the relevant club bodies.
“There were sporting reasons for the move,” Pfannenstiel said. “We were bottom of the table.”
Funkel stands by his emotional reaction
Funkel coached Fortuna from March 2016 until January 2020. Although he now acknowledges the mistake over Schäfer’s involvement, he maintains that he reacted strongly in the moment.
“That does not really fit me, but I was simply disappointed then,” Funkel said.
He said there is no bad blood with Pfannenstiel. Their relationship had settled quickly after the dismissal, with the pair meeting normally on later occasions and exchanging messages around birthdays and Christmas.
