It would probably be an exaggeration to speak of an era that comes to an end at VfL Bochum this Friday with the game in Freiburg (8.30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and on DAZN), but it is a turning point for the Revierklub imminent.

Sports director Sebastian Schindzielorz, who in February 2018 succeeded Christian Hochstätter, who failed due to his dream of promotion, will accompany his last game as a manager at Bochum.

On September 1st, four and a half years will come to an end in which VfL changed from a gray second division club into a Bundesliga club with a strong character.

"We have always emphasized how much we regret that Sebastian Schindzielorz has decided to leave VfL," says CEO Hans-Peter Villis.

Schindzielorz, whose successor has already been found in the form of former professional Patrick Fabian, "has played a major part in bringing VfL Bochum back to where we think it belongs: in the Bundesliga".

Not everyone shares this opinion at the latest after the bad 0:7 against FC Bayern last Sunday.

After three matchdays without a point, VfL is bottom of the table and, measured by the odds of the major betting providers, the favorite to be relegated, for reasons that go far beyond the performances of the season so far.

A lot has changed compared to last year, when the team also lost 7-0 to Bayern early in the season.

However, that was in Munich, and Simon Zoller didn't say afterwards: "I've never been so destroyed."

Magic of Bundesliga return

Now Bochum had just barely missed the heaviest home defeat in Bundesliga history, which Tasmania Berlin suffered in 1966 with a 9-0 loss to MSV Duisburg.

"That was a game that didn't correspond to our DNA," says coach Thomas Reis a few days after Sunday's dismantling.

It is completely open whether VfL will permanently find its way back into its favorite role as an extremely resilient outsider who consistently punishes every favorite for small negligence.

The magic of returning to the Bundesliga was still working last season;

the competition and the public were amazed at the idiosyncratic nature of this district club.

The visiting players, many of whom had never played at the enchantingly old-fashioned Ruhrstadion, were impressed by the dense atmosphere on Castroper Strasse.

This effect was reinforced by a very special feature of this stadium: under the restrictions of the pandemic, it worked much better than most other arenas, even with a reduced number of spectators.

In addition, there was an unencumbered working atmosphere throughout the association.

Players and other employees saw promotion with VfL as a unique career opportunity.

This summer has begun the usual process of bleeding that so many well-performing climbers have experienced in their second year.

Armel Bella-Kotchap (Southampton) and Maxim Leitsch (Mainz 05) left the two most important central defenders.

The central striker Sebastian Polter, which is very important for VfL's style of play, now plays for Schalke, Milos Pantovic for Union Berlin and sports director Schindzielorz apparently also has career plans that should be realized at the next higher level.

Plan only "recognisable in phases"

Some observers even have the impression that Reis is flirting with a farewell.

He has rejected a first offer to extend his contract, which ends next summer.

"There were offers from the club, most recently before the first competitive game of the season, so far we haven't been able to come to an agreement," he says.

The hesitation is understandable, because his work in Bochum has so far been so convincing that he can count on interesting offers from larger clubs.

All of these developments are worrying for the current VfL season, with one finding from the pitch weighing the most heavily: The team's football is no longer working properly.

"Over the last two, two and a half years we have shown a style of play, a courage that has got us to where we are," says Reis, now the old plan for success is only "identifiable in phases".

Not even Manuel Riemann, the excellent goalkeeper of the past season, seems stable anymore. "Some of the team want to play what has distinguished us in recent years," says Zoller, "for some it's not that far, you can see that on the pitch.” But Reis has earned a reputation as an accomplished professional who can reach players and develop a team, now he has a chance to show he's a coach with the potential to take on higher roles.