“As the supervisory board, we extremely regret Frank’s decision, but both respect and accept it,” explained Hess-Grunewald. The chairman of the supervisory board had been speaking to Frank Baumann regularly in recent weeks. “It was important for us to have some clarity as to whether Frank would be available from the 30th June onwards or not. As the board, we are well-prepared and will continue the process of finding his successor and the best possible hire for Werder Bremen. We will look at both internal and external options for his replacement. Clemens Fritz is obviously somebody being considered as Frank’s successor. We want to have found a replacement for him by the end of the first quarterly period of 2024. Frank will continue to take full responsibility in his role until the end of his time here,” added Dr. Hubertus Hess-Grunewald.
July 2024 will mark the end of Frank Baumann’s eight-year tenure as sporting director of SVW. The now 48-year-old arrived in Bremen as a player in 1999 and led Werder to a Bundesliga title and two DFB-Pokal wins as captain. “It hasn’t been an easy decision for me, as Werder have been more than just my employers for a number of years. I think that after eight years as sporting director, the time is right not just for me, but also for the club to move on. On the one hand, the role of sporting director is very challenging and taxing and, because of that, I’d already been aiming to take at least a year off when I turned 50 anyway. On the other hand, I think a fresh face in my role will do the club some good. They’ll bring something different to the table and have new ideas,” said Frank Baumann.
The Green-Whites’ honorary captain was optimistic as he looked ahead to the club’s future without him. “I’m convinced that we’ll have achieved our goals on the pitch by the end of the season. We’ve made some important decisions over the past few months and years across a number of different areas to set a precedent for the coming seasons. I think that the club is in a very good position in terms of strategy, finances and personnel to continue being successful in the future.”