Volleyball Feud: Suhl Boss Attacks Dresden's Coach

The president of German champion VfB Suhl has sharply criticized the coach of rival Dresdner SC for poaching his women’s volleyball players. “Once again, all sorts of inboxes will be full of messages from 58-year-old Alexander Waibl, who’s writing to our girls,” Alexander Mantlik told the “Freies Wort.” “Alexander Waibl is trying to play like Bayern Munich, stirring up trouble even during the season to weaken the opponent.”

Mantlik views DSC coach Waibl’s behavior as “unfair, but not illegal—that needs to be made very clear.” The president and manager of the double champion from Thuringia emphasized that his own coach, Laszlo Hollosy, would not contact any players.

Verbal Commitments

Mantlik also accuses Waibl of apparently not fully complying with the league’s transfer regulations. “In the Volleyball Bundesliga, there’s a rule that you can’t sign any players until January, but Mr. Waibl often already has a verbal commitment by that time,” said Mantlik. “I myself haven’t seen a single player who left us and improved in Dresden.”

In Dresden, they took note of these remarks. “We don’t understand the frustration. There are also no national or international guidelines regulating signings and the timing of them,” said Managing Director Sandra Zimmermann. “With 13 titles in 17 years in charge, head coach Alexander Waibl’s record speaks for itself.”

After the surprise victory in both the league and the cup, outside hitter Mackenzie Foley left Suhl for Dresden. Nevertheless, Suhl won the Super Cup against its Saxon rival convincingly, 3-0, last Saturday.

Upheaval for Both Teams

Both Suhl and Dresden had to navigate a major shakeup over the summer—which is not unusual in volleyball. Eight players left Dresden, and five left Suhl.

The Thuringian club’s transfer goal is to “sign the unsung heroes who have great potential and, working with Laszlo, believe they can make it happen,” said Mantlik. “Suhl should be the first port of call for every talented player in Germany—that was our goal, and we’ve now reached that point.”