Lens Club announces its separation from coach Dino Topmüller

On Tuesday, Lance announced his separation from coach Dino Topmüller after only 6 matches with the club competing in the French Premier League.

He said in a statement: “In the spirit of mutual respect, FC Lens and Dino Topmüller announce the termination of their cooperation by mutual consent.”

The club explained that it held extensive discussions with Topmüller about the team’s lineup and the organization of its coaching staff before notifying him of its desire to restructure the technical staff.

The French club added: “Because Dino Topmüller did not agree to these administrative changes, the club’s management decided, based on its sense of responsibility, to separate from him as well as his two assistants.”

Saudi international Saud Abdul Hamid has been playing for Lens since last season, but he missed the last four matches due to injury.

German Topmüller (45 years old) was appointed in June after coach Pierre Sage left to coach Crystal Palace, competing in the English Premier League, after leading Lens to win a historic title in the French Cup and finish the local league in second place.

The German coach, whose contract ran until 2028, began his career with a surprise 1-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the French Super Cup last month.

But in the French League, Lance won once in the first 4 matches and began his journey in the Champions League with an exciting 3-2 victory over host Slavia Prague.

The team occupies tenth place in the French League standings, and will visit Monaco on Friday, where Yannick Kayuzak, who was Topmüller’s assistant, will take over the leadership of the team.

Jose Alberto, coach of Racing Santander, is aware of the difficulty of the task that awaits his team when it faces Barcelona, ​​on Wednesday, at Camp Nou, the stronghold of the Catalan team.

Alberto said in a press conference on Tuesday: “Playing such matches is a dream for all of us.”

He added: “We realize the difficulty of the task in light of Barcelona’s awakening and state, but we will try to perform with courage and boldness while anticipating difficult moments and suffering, but the match will be a good opportunity for us to perform well.”

Camp Nou Stadium was chosen to host the Champions League final in 2029, 30 years after the last time the Catalan city hosted this major European meeting.

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick commented: “This is happy news for the club. Camp Nou will be an amazing stadium after the renovation work is completed.”

News reports said on Tuesday that young striker Saeed Al-Mulla may make his debut with the German national team within Jurgen Klopp's first squad, while veteran goalkeeper Oliver Baumann will not join.

Kicker sports magazine said that Al-Mulla, who is of Lebanese origin, will be among the players that Klopp will nominate on Thursday to participate in the European Nations League matches against the Netherlands, Serbia and Greece (twice) in the period between September 24 and October 4.

Al-Mulla, a 20-year-old Cologne player, was among the national team’s squad in two World Cup qualifiers last fall under the leadership of former coach Julian Nagelsmann, but he was excluded after the first match, and was not included in the World Cup either.

As for Baumann (36 years old), he participated in all the qualifying matches and two friendly matches in March due to the injury of Marc-Andre ter Stegen, but he was only the second choice in the World Cup after Manuel Neuer returned from retirement to participate in the tournament.

Bild newspaper reported that Klopp, who succeeded Nagelsmann after his team was eliminated in the round of 32 in the World Cup, would not include Baumann, the Hoffenheim goalkeeper, in his roster.