The fact that Peer Jaekel was the first Magdeburg official to face the media in the mixed zone following the 1-6 debacle in the season opener against Eintracht Braunschweig carried symbolic significance. It seems that a sporting director doesn’t just step in front of the team and the coach—he also wants to nip any budding discussions about personnel, playing style, and attitude in the bud.
Sander: “Unsettled from the very first minute”
“If you look at the first 90 minutes of the season, we couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start. The first 30 minutes leading up to the red card were worse for me than what came after,” Jaekel began—only to then admit that he had no explanation for the lackluster performance the team had shown.
Next up at the press conference was coach Petrik Sander. He began by apologizing for the performance—which was unusual enough—and then mercilessly rubbed salt in the wound: “We looked unsettled from the very first minute. I don’t know the reason—but I have a hunch. I think that one or two players had different expectations in their heads and ended up feeling bitterly disappointed.”
