Ex-Bayer Leverkusen and Union Berlin coach Sascha Lewandowski has died at the age of 44.
News broke on Thursday that Lewandowski had been found dead at his home in Bochum, Germany, though the cause of his death is still unclear.
The German coached Leverkusen alongside Sami Hyypia from April 2012 to May 2013, before serving as interim head coach when the ex-Liverpool defender left the club in April 2014.
Lewandowski took over at Union Berlin in September last year but stepped down in March on the advice of doctors after being diagnosed with acute fatigue syndrome, a severe form of burnout that led to heart problems.
And both Leverkusen and Union have since offered their condolences to Lewandowski’s family after hearing of his death.
“It is hard to imagine for us that Sascha is dead,” Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Voller said in a statement.
“He was a great man who brought all his strength and passion in his work… Sascha did a fantastic job. Our deepest sympathy goes to his [family].
“We are all shocked and deeply concerned,” Leverkusen chief executive Michael Schade added.
“Our thoughts are now with his partner and his family. Sascha Lewandowski was a wonderful person who has left their mark in Leverkusen.
“His name is closely linked to the sporting success of our club in recent years. It’s terrible that he is now no longer among us. We had all hoped to see him again in the summer on a bench.”