FCA sign Benni Weber as new sporting director
Additional new recruits in sporting department
Club
27.06.2025, 11:15
FC Augsburg have secured the services of Benni Weber as new sporting director. The 42-year-old joins from SC Paderborn, where he had operated as managing director for sport. His prior work includes assistant coach and video analyst roles at Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund and 1. FSV Mainz 05.
“We are delighted that we have been able to recruit Benni as our new sporting director at FCA. He has done a remarkable job in Paderborn over the past few years. In addition to engendering sporting success, he has primarily impressed with his ability to sing and develop talented young players, including five Germany youth internationals, which speaks for itself. He has also been successful at the highest level and brings a wealth of experience with him from previous positions, making him a very good fit for our directive and our profile of requirements,” explained FCA’s CEO Michael Ströll.
Benni Weber: “I am really looking forward to working in my role as sporting director at FCA and would like to thank those responsible for placing their faith in me. I was very quickly won over by the club’s philosophy and the people involved. I would like to play my part in developing FCA even further in the coming years, with a strong team by my side.”
Benni Weber will begin his tenure at FC Augsburg ahead of the squad’s training camp in Austria and will be officially presented via a press conference.
Manuel Baum, Marc Lettau and Julian Baumgartlinger also join FC Augsburg
Alongside Benni Weber, FC Augsburg have been able to add further reinforcement to their sporting department with three extra new signings.
Manuel Baum makes his return to FCA, this time around as director of development and football innovation. Baum previously worked in Augsburg between 2014 and 2019, initially as a head coach in the Paul Renz Academy before taking charge of the senior side in December 2016. During his tenure, he paved the way for a plethora of young prospects, handing Kevin Danso, Marco Richter and Raphael Framberger their Bundesliga debuts.
Afterwards, Manuel Baum worked with the Germany U18 and U20 teams before becoming head coach of FC Schalke 04. He most recently operated as head of youth development at RB Leipzig.
In his new role at FCA, Baum will be responsible for and attempt to prosper young talent, while optimising and innovating performance, in addition to his work regarding the integration from academy to first-team set-ups.
Marc Lettau joins in the newly created position of squad planner and will be head up the pre-existing scouting team led by technical director Christoph Janker, while also overseeing squad planning.
Lettau operated as sporting director at VfL Bochum until October 2024, managing to twice help the club avoid relegation from the Bundesliga. Prior to that, he served as administrative head of the first team department at 1. FC Union Berlin between May 2018 and December 2022, where he was jointly responsible for putting together the squad. During this time, he assisted the club in qualifying for European competition on two occasions as well as gaining an inaugural promotion to the Bundesliga. The 39-year-old began his career as coordinator of youth football in the performance department at FC Schalke 04, a role he served in from 2011 to 2016.
Julian Baumgartlinger has also returned to FC Augsburg. The former midfielder played for the club in the 2022/23 season before calling time on his playing career. With over 400 games in professional football under his belt, including spells as captain of Bayer 04 Leverkusen, 1. FSV Mainz 05 and the Austria national team, the 37-year-old will take on the new role of coordinator of first-team operations.
“We are really pleased that Manuel, Marc and Julian will join FCA. They will all bring additional expertise to their respective roles. We are convinced that, together with Benni Weber as sporting director, we are excellently equipped for the future with this setup,” said FCA’s CEO Michael Ströll.
Manuel Baum, Marc Lettau and Julian Baumgartlinger will all start their new roles with FCA at the start of July.
