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FOOTBALL

Burnout forces Rangnick to quit as Schalke coach

Schalke 04 coach Ralf Rangnick said he was resigning his post at the Bundesliga side due on Thursday to extreme burnout syndrome.

Burnout forces Rangnick to quit as Schalke coach
Photo: DPA

The 53-year-old Rangnick quit Schalke with immediate effect on his own terms after just six months in charge. He was the second German league coach to part company with his club after Hamburg sacked coach Michael Oenning on Monday.

For Saturday’s home Bundesliga game against Freiburg, assistant coaches Josef Eichkorn and Markus Gisdol have stepped in for the interim until a replacement is found.

“After long and careful consideration, I have come to the conclusion that I need a break,” said Rangnick on Schalke’s web page.

“I found it incredibly hard to make a decision like this, but my current energy levels are not high enough to succeed and in particular to advance the team and the club. I am taking this step for the benefit of the team, who I wish every success for the rest of the season.”

Schalke’s general manager Horst Heldt said the news had taken the club by surprise, but they respected the decision after Rangnick admitted suffering from disturbed sleep, restlessness and poor appetite, especially in the last two weeks.

“It pulled the ground from under our feet, because the signs were not recognisable,” said Heldt.

Schalke’s chief executive officer Clemens Tönnies echoed that the news had come ‘like a lightning strike’ and the Royal Blues did not yet have a successor in mind.

Having come to Schalke just two months after leaving Hoffenheim in January, Rangnick has taken few breaks from football since 2005 and Schalke’s team doctor Thorsten Rarreck said the coach had done the right thing.

“He realised enough is enough. He has had a killer job for the last five years, if he had taken a four- or five-month break, perhaps this wouldn’t have happened,” said Rarreck.

“This is very brave of him. I know lots of people who in the same situation would have thought they have to go on. It will take him a few months to recover, but unlike depression, burnout is reversible.”

President of the German Football Federation (DFB) Theo Zwanziger said Rangnick’s decision shows things have changed slightly in Germany since the tragic suicide of goalkeeper Robert Enke in November 2009 after suffering from depression.

“Perhaps the situation in the hard world of professional football has changed a little bit after all the discussions surrounding the tragic death of Robert Enke,” Zwanziger told daily Bild.

Rangnick took over as Schalke boss on March 17 after the Royal Blues sacked Felix Magath, who is now coach of 2009 champions VfL Wolfsburg.

AFP/mry

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RACISM

VIDEO: Spain’s La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

Spain's La Liga on Monday said it was reviewing a video of a child making racist insults towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend.

VIDEO: Spain's La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

“We’re in the process of studying and analysing the facts from a legal standpoint to see what we can and should do,” La Liga sources said.

In a video published by a journalist for ESPN Brasil, and picked up by Spanish media, a boy sitting in a woman’s lap can be heard calling Vinicius a “monkey”.

The Brazilian scored twice for Madrid as his team recovered from two goals down at Mestalla on Saturday.

Vinicius raised his fist in a “Black Power” salute after the first of his two goals at a ground where he was racially abused last season. Valencia subsequently banned three people from the stadium for life.

The 23-year-old has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in Spanish football after suffering racist abuse on many occasions, and he was jeered repeatedly by home supporters on Saturday.

Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle against Valencia for protesting after the referee blew the final whistle right before the England midfielder headed home what he thought was the winning goal.

READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans

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