The 2. Bundesliga's bottom club SpVgg Greuther Fürth have appointed Damir Buric has their new head coach, the replacement for the sacked Janos Radoki.
The former SC Freiburg and Borussia Mönchengladbach defender leaves Austrian Bundesliga side FC Admira Wacker Mödling to take charge of the Shamrocks, with whom he signs a contract until 2019.
2. Bundesliga winner as Freiburg assistant
Radoki left Fürth at the end of last month following four defeats on the spin, with interim coach Mirko Dickhaut in charge for the 1-1 draw with Dynamo Dresden on Friday evening, earning them their first point. The club then confirmed on Saturday at Buric would take over as permanent coach.
After nearly 200 appearances in the top two tiers of German football as a player, he began his coaching career with Freiburg, starting out as an assistant for the second team before taking the same role with the first team under first Volker Finke then Robin Dutt, with whom he won promotion from the 2. Bundesliga in 2009.
He went on to follow Dutt to both Bayer Leverkusen and Werder Bremen, although the pair’s spell with both was relatively brief. Buric then struck out on his home, managing hometown club HNK Hajduk Split to third place in the Croatian 1.HNL in his only season in charge.
He took over at Admira in January, picking up 11 wins in 26 games in charge. They finished sixth in the Austrian top flight at the end of the last campaign, and beat SV Mattersburg 5-0 in his final game in charge on Saturday before his new posting was confirmed.
Fürth confident he can lead club out of danger
Helmut Hack, Fürth’s President, said in the club’s statement that Buric “knows German football and both the first and second divisions.” He added that the new boss has “a lot of experience” and that club are “convinced he will help us get out of this difficult phase.”
Meanwhile Director of Professional Football Ramazan Yildirim said that Buric “has shown he can develop players” in his previous roles and had “earned great respect” for that.
The Croatian himself said that he is “looking forward to coming back to Germany,” and that he is “very happy” to return there as a coach with Fürth.
The club confirmed he will take his first training session on Monday, with his first game in charge next Sunday at home to current league leaders Fortuna Düsseldorf.
Quotes via SpVgg Greuther Fürth.