A Swiss investor takes over the Krefeld Pinguine – and there is chaos. Several players leave the club, the coach flees and club icon Pietta takes to court.
FromMilan Sako
Go away: Wade Bergman’s contract in Krefeld expired on November 30th, and in the morning of December 1st, the defender was on the ice with the Augsburg Panthers as a new signing. Since the situation in Krefeld with a Russian investor is opaque, Bergman chose the same option as the coach Glen Hanlon, who was only signed in the summer – the quick exit before the season even started. Loyal employees do not want to blacken their employers, not even the 30-year-old. Bergman cautiously formulated after the chaos days in the Rhineland: “It was a challenge for everyone. I wish Krefeld all the best for the future. ”The club can use more than encouragement. The penguins haven’t been able to rest for weeks.
Swiss investor in the penguins: the new club boss never appeared in Krefeld
The problems started much earlier, however. Last season, the old shareholders were already arguing about who had to add how much money. Ice hockey is in
OF THE a grant business. This is no different in Krefeld than at other locations. After the end of the season in spring 2020, all shareholders said goodbye and the investor Stefano Ansaldi, who was completely unknown in ice hockey circles, took over the DEL shares. The new club boss never appeared in Krefeld, nor did he give any interviews. Players, fans and experts wondered why a Swiss investor invests in a loss-making club with no connection to the city. Til today.
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After the chaos in Krefeld, defender Wade Bergman accepted the Panther’s offer and moved to Augsburg.
Image: Ulrich Wagner
Ansaldi is said to have previously tried to join another club – without success. The stranger, who now holds 80 percent of the shares in the penguins, amazed with curious personnel decisions. In the beginning, Ansaldi hired the former professional and amateur trainer Roger Nicholas, a managing director who had no idea about the DEL and who acted with the dexterity of an elephant. Nicholas put club icon Daniel Pietta, one of the best German DEL strikers, in front of the door despite a long-term contract. Argument: Half a team can be financed with the Pietta salary. The employment contract? Just a letter of intent, Nicholas thought.
In 2015, under the old leadership, a ten-year contract was signed with the international striker, which is unusual in the league. A few days ago, both sides met again at the Krefeld labor court. The court proposed a settlement. The employment contract will be terminated retrospectively as of April 30th. Judge Monika Lepper-Erke suggested a settlement of 350,000 euros, according to ice hockey news. The 33-year-old Pietta, who has since joined the ERC Ingolstadt, is still under contract. Krefeld has so far refused to approve. Exit still open.
Augsburg panthers could not imagine a start in the Magentasport Cup
But Roger Nicholas is long gone, the only 24-year-old Sergey Saveljev runs the business. Without any experience, the chief scout rose to managing director overnight. Surprisingly, Krefeld registered for the Magentasport Cup weeks ago. In
Augsburg, Ingolstadt, Straubing and Nuremberg could not afford professional ice hockey at that time without income from the spectators. The penguins put on it and reinforced themselves with additional staff only to suddenly realize that the funds could run out. On the evening before the Wolfsburg game (November 17), Saveljev called the team into the dressing room and presented new working papers with a wage waiver. Eat or die, professional.
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Glen Hanlon is no longer the coach of the Krefeld Penguins.
Image: Salvatore Di Nolfi / KEYSTONE / epa / dpa
The team rebelled and the next day drew attention to the wild west methods of the club’s top with a warm-up boycott before the Wolfsburg game. Coach Hanlon supported his team’s sit-in strike. A few days later, the Canadian surprisingly packed his suitcase and officially referred to his age (63) and the corona pandemic. By then at the latest, defender Bergmann must have contacted his manager and put out feelers to Augsburg. “Coach Hanlon brought me to Krefeld. Now he’s gone, and I’ve also made my decision, ”said the 30-year-old diplomatically after the first ice training in Augsburg. Six professionals have now left the penguins.
It is not only the Augsburg panthers that are worried
It’s not just KEV fans who have long been worried about the traditional club. Nobody from the DEL expresses himself officially. The numbers have to be right, otherwise the league office will not comment on the shareholder structures or the behavior on site. The other 13 shareholders are very worried, however. Behind the scenes it means: We are trying to get a DEL season off the ground under the most difficult corona conditions and in Krefeld things go haywire. The prognosis is bleak: the last curtain has not yet fallen in the Penguin Theater.
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