Augsburg have announced that they have hired Jess Thorup as their new manager, replacing Enrico Maaßen who was fired at the beginning of last week.
On joining the Bundesliga side, Thorup said: “I had very constructive and purposeful discussions with the responsible people, in which I immediately felt that the FCA is the right next step for me. The club and the team have a lot of potential and it is a great pleasure for me to work in the Bundesliga and advance FC Augsburg together.” Thorup’s contract at Augsburg is valid until 2025.
Sporting director Marinko Jurendic, who decided to part ways with Maaßen commented on why they chose the Dane: “We are pleased that with Jess we were able to win a football expert and people for the FCA, who has been head coach at the highest level for many years and has a lot of experience at national and international level. Jess has proven in his previous stations that he can both develop players and also lead teams to success,”
The majority of Thorup’s managerial career has been spent in his native Denmark, where he led both Copenhagen and FC Midtjylland to the Danish Championship. The 53-year-old also had a brief spell in Belgium with KAA Gent and Genk, leading Gent to a second-place finish in the curtailed Pro League season.
Thorup’s first game in charge of Augsburg will be away at Heidenheim. This gives Thorup one week to try and get his ideas and how he likes to play across to the team.
GGFN | Jack Meenan