Schmadtke following in his father's footsteps

The week after Premier League giants Liverpool appointed Jorg Schmadtke as Sporting Director, his son, Nils Schmadtke (pictured top), has taken on the same position at Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga.

He arrives alongside Borussia's newly appointed Head Coach, Gerardo Seoane, in a reshuffle at the club.

Schmadtke, 34, had most recently been working as the Chief Scout at fellow top-flight side VfL Wolfsburg. 

Dr Philipp Schützendorf, previously the club's  Head of Analysis, has been promoted to Head of Development, which incorporates talent development and video and data analysis.

“These changes will see us cover more bases in the future,” explained Roland Virkus, Managing Director of Sport at Borussia. 

“Nils Schmadtke will take over the organisation of the first team and will be part of the leadership team alongside myself and Steffen Korell (Director for Scouting and Squad Planning).

"With Philipp Schützendorf leading the development team after our restructure, we are looking for sustained improvements to our first team and academy talents.”  

Promotion for Hechelmann as Schalke eye Bundesliga return

There has been another promotion to Sporting Director at FC Schalke 04, with André Hechelmann stepping up from Chief Scout to take on the role.

The announcement comes after Schalke were relegated from Bundesliga in 17th place, meaning an instant return to the second tier.

Hechelmann, who had been in the role on an interim basis for the last eight months, will be supported by René Grotus, Sports Officer, as they aim to lead them back to the Bundesliga, where they had spent 30 consecutive years before the relegation in 2020-21. 

“In the past few months, we have gone through an extensive process to find the best possible people for the challenges ahead," says Peter Knäbel, member of the Management Board. 

"We are 100 percent convinced of André. André brings with him a great deal of experience from many areas of a football club - team management, finances, scouting, squad planning. He has an excellent network and a very good eye for the potential of players and how they fit into the existing team structure."

Mutzel hired by Arminia

Elsewhere in 2. Bundesliga, DSC Arminia Bielefeld have named Michael Mutzel as their new Sporting Director.

His most recent role was Sporting Director at Hamburger SV from 2019-2022. Prior to that, he held a variety of roles at TSG Hoffenheim and had a year as Sporting Director of Greuther Fürth.

Mutzel said: "I would like to thank everyone in charge for the trust they have placed in me and I am tackling the task with great joy and conviction. I would like to work successfully for Arminia Bielefeld together with our members, fans, committees, partners and our strong environment as well as our teams on and off the pitch. I am positive about the future and immediately tackle our challenges with full commitment.”