'I will stay': Long-serving coach Schmidt dismisses Heidenheim exit
Heidenheim coach Frank Schmidt reacts on the sideline during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Eintracht Frankfurt and 1. FC Heidenheim at Deutsche Bank Park. Florian Wiegand/dpa Frank Schmidt will not step down as Heidenheim coach in the case of Bundesliga relegation and plans to fulfil his contract until 2027 which would take him to two decades at the helm.
"I can say here and now that I will fulfil my contract, that I will stay at FCH," Schmid said on the eve of Saturday's match against Bayer Leverkusen. The longest-serving coach in German professional football said he has informed club chairman Holger Sanwald, who said a few weeks ago that they had no intention to part ways with Schmidt. His contract includes the second division.
Heidenheim are last, 11 points from safety and withjout a victory in 13 matches and seemingly set for the drop after three years in the top flight. Schmidt became coach in September 2007 and led them from the fourth tier into the Bundesliga where they finished eighth to qualify for the Conference League in their first season 2023-24. They avoided relegation in a play-off last term.
The current difficult situation led to speculation that Schmidt's term could end but he insisted "I never said that I would stop. "Of course a situation like this makes you think more deeply. But you can count on me ā Iām staying on as coach at Heidenheim and will see out my contract," he said.