Bochum part company with 'speed demon' Gerrit Holtmann
Following their officially relegation from the Bundesliga, VfL Bochum quickly confirmed the departure of ten players on Monday. A major restructuring was obviously coming. In emotional scenes at the Vonovia Ruhrstadion on Saturday afternoon, long-time squad captain Anthony Losilla and veteran Cristian Gamboa bade farewell to the Revierklub.
Four loan players – Tom Krauß, Georgios Masouras, Jakov Medic, Far and top scorer Myron Boadu – are headed back to their parent clubs. Keeper Paul Grave and high value defender Bernardo depart on expiring contracts. Ukrainian centre-back Ivan Ordets is permitted to leave due to a release clause in his current deal.
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On Tuesday, the club confirmed that popular German winger Gerrit Holtmann would also leave following four seasons spent representing the 1848ers. The Bremen native – who represents the Philippines internationally – could conceivably have a future in the German top flight due to his extensive experience with Bochum, Mainz, and Darmstadt.
Holtmann has made 135 Bundesliga appearances for his three clubs. The speedster earned the nickname 'the Filipino Typhoon' due to his incredible pace. This year, Holtmann was clocked at 22.83 mph (36.74 km/h) during a matchday nine loss against Eintracht Frankfurt.
At the time, that made him the fastest recorded player in Bundesliga history. FC Heidenheim's Sirlord Conteh, who had been top on the list after breaking the record on early in the season, then took top spot back with a recorded speed of 22.88 mph (36.82 km/h) on matchday 13.
'We would have liked to continue with Gerrit. He identified with VfL and the people here,' Bochum sporting director Dirk Dufner noted in a club statement. 'We had positive talks, at the end of which he informed us that he had decided to take on a new challenge.'
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GGFN | Peter Weis
'I would like to thank the VfL management and the loyal fans for a wonderful time at an extraordinary club,' the player himself added in a statement published on the club website.'I wish Bochum all the best and hope that they'll soon be back where they belong in the top division.'
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