Momentous turning point for Luxembourg’s national soccer team

The end of an era. Jeff Strasser has been named technical commissioner of the Luxembourg national team, a week after compatriot Luc Holtz resigned: the Luxembourg federation told AFP, confirming rumors that had been circulating.

Holtz had been in charge for 15 years and was the second longest-serving national team leader in the world, behind Koldo Alvarez, coach of Andorra since Feb. 2, 2010. Strasser, 50, was known as a footballer for wearing the shirts of Metz (1993-1999, 2007-2009) and Strasbourg (2006-2007) in France, as well as Kaiserslautern (a club he also coached in 2017) and Borussia Mönchengladbach in Germany.

Strasser, who racked up 98 national team appearances as a player (a record at the time, later broken), has 15 days to prepare for the match against Northern Ireland on Sept. 4, three days before the match against Slovakia. Both matches will count toward qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, which will be played in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Holtz will not be sitting on his hands: he is set to sit on the bench of Germany’s Waldhof Mannheim team.