Manuel Baum Returns as Interim Head Coach for FC Augsburg

Following the confirmation of head coach Sandro Wagner’s dismissal earlier today, FC Augsburg has announced that former head coach Manuel Baum will step in on an interim basis until the winter break. This marks Baum’s return to the Bundesliga touchline for the first time in over five years. He is set to lead the team for a minimum of three matches.

Baum’s last experience as a Bundesliga head coach was during Schalke 04’s tumultuous 2020/21 relegation campaign, where he was one of five coaches at the helm that season. He took over Schalke from matchday three through matchday twelve, from September to December 2020, following the departure of David Wagner.

Regrettably, Baum’s tenure at Schalke was marred by a lack of victories, as he did not secure a single league win during a period in which the team aimed to avoid matching Tasmania Berlin’s notorious record of 34 consecutive winless league fixtures. Although he achieved a victory in the Pokal against 1. FC Schweinfurt, his brief period in charge is predominantly remembered as disastrous.

Before his time at Schalke, Baum coached at Wagner’s former club, SpVgg Unterhaching, and managed FC Augsburg from December 2016 to April 2019. During his 86 matches in charge of Augsburg, he recorded a win rate of just under 30 percent.

Following his departure from Schalke, Baum returned to German football a little over two years later in a role at the RB Leipzig academy, where he served as academy director and also coached one of the youth teams.

Baum was among those affected by Leipzig’s summer restructuring after the club failed to qualify for Europe for the first time in the top flight. He officially assumed his position as Augsburg’s developmental director on July 1st.