00:01:57
ITN Source
GERMANY: Borussia Dortmund confirm Roeber hired as new coach.
GERMANY: Borussia Dortmund confirm Roeber hired as new coach.
Borussia Dortmund, who sacked coach Bert van Marwijk on Monday (December 18), hired former Hertha Berlin coach Juergen Roeber on Tuesday (December 19) as his replacement. "First of all, I'm obviously really looking forward to this challenge. I'm with a club where there is a fan community, it's a traditional club which has incredible conditions and which I believe has a very good team. Those who know me know that I will try to make everything out of this team," Roeber, 52, told a news conference in Dortmund. Roeber said he was not bothered that Dortmund only given him a contract to the end of the season, fuelling more speculation that he is only an interim coach until rival candidate Thomas van Heesen's contract expires at Arminia Bielefeld on June 30. Dortmund managing director Hans-Joachim Watzke denied he had made any deal with another coach for next season. "The fact is that we limited this cooperation until June 30. At the same time, let me make this very clear: Borussia Dortmund has no obligations and no deals with anyone for the time period after July 1. So the issue remains open. The important point is that Juergen Roeber will start his job on January 4," he said. Former Dortmund coach Ottmar Hitzfeld turned down on Monday an offer to coach the club again. Roeber was most recently coach of Partizan Belgrade but they parted company on May 11 after a disappointing season. Roeber has also coached VfL Wolfsburg and VfB Stuttgart. He enjoyed a successful spell in his six years in Berlin from 1996 to 2002, leading the club out of the second division into the top flight and then into the Champions League. "People on the pitch have to show what people in the stadium want to see: that they do their utmost, that they are one hundred percent behind their team and work towards success. Then I think we will reach a point again where the entire stadium is behind the team. In my view that's very, very important. It only works with the fans and their support but to succeed is up to the guys on the pitch. That's why I'm here and I will get them to do just that," Roeber told reporters. Dortmund sacked 54-year-old Dutchman van Marwijk on Monday after a 2-1 defeat by Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday left the side in ninth place with 22 points at the halfway stage of the season.
ITN Source | December 20, 2006
