Ex-HSV boss Tim Walter set for return to 2. Bundesliga! | OneFootball

Holstein Kiel has apparently found a successor for the recently dismissed Marcel Rapp. Former HSV coach Tim Walter is set to take over at the Förde!

This is being reported by Bild and Sky in agreement. Rapp, who led Kiel to the Bundesliga in 2024, was relieved of his duties on Tuesday after four and a half years in charge. The main reason was sporting failures. Following relegation, Holstein now faces the threat of dropping straight into the 3rd division. Currently, the club sits in 14th place, just two points ahead of bottom-placed Fürth.

Walter is therefore facing anything but an easy task. On the positive side: for the long-time HSV coach, it’s a return to familiar territory. The 50-year-old already worked for the Storks in the 2018/2019 season and narrowly missed out on promotion to the Bundesliga back then.

Walter then moved to VfB Stuttgart, before heading to the Hanseatic city in the summer of 2021. There, Walter was in charge for two and a half years. Twice, he narrowly missed leading HSV back to the Bundesliga in the promotion playoffs. Nevertheless, his risk-taking style of play and emotional demeanor earned him great popularity.

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HSV Reunion at Holstein Kiel

In Kiel, Walter will now meet an old companion from their shared HSV days. Jonas Meffert moved to KSV last winter to help prevent the looming relegation to the third tier.

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The 31-year-old was one of Walter’s key players in Hamburg and previously in Kiel, and is considered the coach’s right-hand man. When Walter took over at English Championship side Hull City in the summer of 2024, rumors quickly circulated that Meffert might also make the move to the Championship. Now, a year and a half later, the reunion is taking place in northern Germany.

The first test awaits on Saturday against third-placed SV 07 Elversberg. For Walter, Meffert, and Holstein Kiel, every point now counts in the fight to stay up!

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.