Bundesliga Straggler Bochum Fires Coach after 8 Games in Charge and No Wins

Bochum coach Peter Zeidler gestures on the sidelines, during a German Bundesliga soccer match between TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and VfL Bochum, in Sinsheim, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (Uwe Anspach/dpa via AP)
Bochum coach Peter Zeidler gestures on the sidelines, during a German Bundesliga soccer match between TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and VfL Bochum, in Sinsheim, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (Uwe Anspach/dpa via AP)
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Bundesliga Straggler Bochum Fires Coach after 8 Games in Charge and No Wins

Bochum coach Peter Zeidler gestures on the sidelines, during a German Bundesliga soccer match between TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and VfL Bochum, in Sinsheim, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (Uwe Anspach/dpa via AP)
Bochum coach Peter Zeidler gestures on the sidelines, during a German Bundesliga soccer match between TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and VfL Bochum, in Sinsheim, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (Uwe Anspach/dpa via AP)

Last-place Bundesliga club Bochum has fired coach Peter Zeidler after he failed to win any of his first eight games in charge.

Bochum said late Sunday it was releasing Zeidler and sporting director Marc Lettau from their roles because “conviction is lacking” that the team could avoid relegation from the German top division under their management.

Zeidler, who was hired in June, lost six of the seven Bundesliga games during his tenure and his last game was a 3-1 loss at Hoffenheim on Saturday. Zeidler's only point came in a 2-2 draw with Holstein Kiel, the only other winless team in the league. Bochum also lost to second-division Jahn Regensburg in the German Cup.

Zeidler, who had never previously coached in the Bundesliga, had a tough task from the start with a team which only survived in the Bundesliga last season in a penalty shootout in last season's relegation-promotion playoff.

Bochum has yet to name a replacement for Zeidler. Whoever takes over is likely to have a tricky start as Bochum faces Bayern Munich on Sunday before games against Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayer Leverkusen and Stuttgart.



Horner Praises Lawson for ‘Elbows Out’ Performance

Oracle Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner speaks to Liam Lawson of New Zealand and Visa Cash App RB in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of United States at Circuit of The Americas on October 20, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Getty Images/AFP)
Oracle Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner speaks to Liam Lawson of New Zealand and Visa Cash App RB in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of United States at Circuit of The Americas on October 20, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Horner Praises Lawson for ‘Elbows Out’ Performance

Oracle Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner speaks to Liam Lawson of New Zealand and Visa Cash App RB in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of United States at Circuit of The Americas on October 20, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Getty Images/AFP)
Oracle Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner speaks to Liam Lawson of New Zealand and Visa Cash App RB in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of United States at Circuit of The Americas on October 20, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Getty Images/AFP)

Liam Lawson drew praise from Red Bull boss Christian Horner after the driver marked his return to Formula One for the first time in more than a year by racing from 19th to ninth in Sunday's US Grand Prix.

The 22-year-old New Zealander has taken the place of Australian Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull-owned RB for the remainder of the season with a 2025 race seat there for the taking.

Lawson, who started at the back of the grid on Sunday due to an inherited engine penalty, had already made his mark on Saturday when he clashed with Aston Martin's double world champion Fernando Alonso in a sprint race.

The Spaniard had called him an idiot and also exchanged words with him afterwards.

"I think if you're getting into a spat and getting your elbows out with Fernando on your first race back in, you're doing alright," Horner told reporters.

"I think that he drove an exceptional race today from 19th to ninth. He was fast, he was courageous and I thought it was an excellent comeback for him."

Lawson, who made five appearances last year as a stand-in for the injured Ricciardo, said he had not expected to do so well.

"I just went for every little gap and made up some positions. We made a really good step up with the car yesterday, which we hoped would replicate in the race today and thankfully it did," he added.

Team boss Laurent Mekies said it was a great job "especially when one considers he has not raced since October last year."