Marcel Rapp: 5 things on the man who oversaw Holstein Kiel's rise to the Bundesliga
Kiel's coach made his name as a youth tactician in the ranks of Hoffenheim before becoming a hero at the Holstein-Stadion. bundesliga.com offers five facts on the former defender.
1) Heady heights reserved for coaching
A versatile central defender in a playing career that spanned 15 years, Rapp never managed to play in the Bundesliga. He did, however, feature a total of nine times in Bundesliga 2, combining those appearances with Karlsruhe and Rot-Weiß Oberhausen. Kiel's current boss also once captained Stuttgarter Kickers in the German third tier.
2) Replacing a famous name
Domenico Tedesco is the current coach of Belgium with a proud Bundesliga past. The 38-year-old guided Schalke to a second-place finish in the German top flight and oversaw RB Leipzig's DFB Cup triumph in 2022. Prior to that, Tedesco was making waves at Hoffenheim, where he passed on the baton to an up-and-coming Rapp at the club's U19s side. The latter had previously made notable strides in charge of TSG's U16 and U17 teams.
Watch: Holstein Kiel - welcome to the Bundesliga
3) Surprise Bundesliga bow
With Hoffenheim parting ways with first-team coach Alfred Schreuder towards the end of the 2019/20 campaign, Rapp - along with Matthias Kaltenbach and Kai Herdling - took charge of TSG's final four Bundesliga games. Under the trio, the Sinsheimers won three of those encounters, helping to propel Hoffenheim to a sixth-placed Bundesliga finish and a spot in the UEFA Europa League. Rapp subsequently returned triumphant to the club's U19s.
4) Mouth-watering challenge in Kiel
Current Werder Bremen boss Ole Werner stepped down from his Holstein Kiel coaching role in October 2019, meaning that the Storks were on the lookout for a new man at the helm. Dirk Bremser took up the reins on an interim basis, before Rapp was offered the chance to gain his second-division coaching spurs with the pros.
Down in 15th spot in Bundesliga 2 when he took over, the Baden-Württemberg native steered Kiel to a ninth-placed finish in his first season in charge. In 2022/23, they rose to eighth and by the halfway stage last term, Kiel were crowned winter champions after 11 wins in 17 games. Rapp's contract was duly extended.
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5) First timers
Kiel subsequently entered into a thrilling battle for the second-division title with St. Pauli. The Storks' club-record run of six victories - all without conceding a goal - between Matchdays 25 to 30 put them in prime position.
However, they would ultimately be pipped to top spot by the Hamburg outfit. In the end, that mattered little to the jubilant Kiel fans, who rejoiced in a very first promotion to the German top flight - becoming the 58th team to play in the Bundesliga - thanks to their team achieving second-place under the 45-year-old tactician.
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