Frank Schmidt will step down as head coach of 1. FC Heidenheim at the end of the season, the club announced Tuesday evening, closing a tenure of nearly 20 years that carried the small Baden-Württemberg club from Germany’s fourth tier to the Bundesliga and into European competition, Spiegel reported.

Schmidt, 52, the longest-serving coach in German professional football, told club chairman Holger Sanwald in a personal conversation on Monday that he will not extend his expiring contract, according to Sportschau and Tagesschau. The club had spent recent months trying intensively to persuade its most successful coach to stay. Schmidt said the effort impressed him, but that in recent weeks he had reached the decision to make a change — also with the club’s planning security in mind.

Schmidt wants “a break” this summer

After almost 20 years in charge at Heidenheim, Schmidt said he wants to take a break when the season ends. “How long this break will be and what comes in my life from July 1, I’m not thinking about that right now — on the contrary, I forbid myself from doing so until then,” he said in a club statement quoted by Sportschau and Sport Bild.

Until then, he said, he will give everything for the maximum success this season. “We have written a unique story together as FCH over many years, but the last chapter is not yet finished. I’m looking forward to that now and feel a great desire for it,” Schmidt said.

From the Oberliga to the Conference League

Schmidt took over Heidenheim in September 2007, initially on an interim basis before becoming head coach, according to Spiegel and the Heidenheimer Zeitung, which dates his appointment to Sept. 17, 2007. Under his leadership, the club rose from the Oberliga — the fourth tier of German football — to promotion to the Bundesliga in 2023 and, in between, into the UEFA Conference League. After three years in the top flight, Heidenheim were relegated last summer. They currently sit sixth in the 2. Bundesliga after 10 matchdays, Sportschau reported.

Sanwald calls the departure a watershed for the club

Sanwald, who has worked closely with Schmidt for years, said the coach’s achievements for the club are hard to put into words. “Without Frank as head coach, our sporting development from the amateur ranks to the Bundesliga and European competition would not have been possible at all,” he said. “Frank’s decision naturally marks a watershed for our entire club, which will undoubtedly bring a huge change,” Spiegel quoted him as saying.

Sanwald also praised Schmidt for living the club’s values as a role model. Still, roughly seven months remain until Schmidt’s final appearance on Heidenheim’s touchline. “We, as the big FCH family, now have at least 24 games to give Frank the greatest possible farewell he deserves as a coach and person at our club,” Sanwald said, according to Tagesschau.

Who succeeds Schmidt remains open

No successor has been named. All outlets reporting the story — Spiegel, Sportschau, Sport Bild, Tagesschau and the Heidenheimer Zeitung — agree that who takes over after the season is unresolved. Schmidt himself has only one plan for now: to finish the final chapter of a nearly 20-year era with Heidenheim, Sport Bild reported.

The next confirmed checkpoint comes quickly: Heidenheim host Hannover 96 at the Voith-Arena on Sunday, Nov. 8, with kickoff at 1:30 p.m. local time, the Heidenheimer Zeitung reported.

Frank Schmidt’s Heidenheim departure: the key questions

Frank Schmidt is leaving Heidenheim to take a break after almost 20 years. He told chairman Holger Sanwald on Monday that he will not extend his expiring contract, saying that after nearly 20 years he wants to take a break in the summer. He has not said whether he will return to coaching.

Schmidt has coached Heidenheim for almost 20 years. Nearly 20 years — he took over in September 2007, first as interim coach, and became the longest-serving coach in German professional football.

At the end of the current 2. Bundesliga season; about seven months and at least 24 matches remain. His next match is Sunday, Nov. 8 against Hannover 96 at the Voith-Arena.

Who will replace him? That is still open — no successor has been announced by the club.