Bundesliga coach takes charge of Ludogorets

PFC Ludogorets has appointed German coach Thomas Reis as the new head coach of the club's first team.

The 52-year-old has already arrived in Razgrad, where he finalized his agreement with the club's management. He will lead his first training session with the Eagles on Monday. On Tuesday at 2:00 p.m., Thomas Reis and his coaching staff will be officially introduced to the media at Huvepharma Arena.

The German arrives in Razgrad with his own coaching team. His assistants will be experienced Dutch coach Ton Lokhoff and Daniel Zenkovic, a Bosnian coach who holds Austrian citizenship.

Lokhoff enjoyed a distinguished career as both a player and a coach. As a footballer, he made nearly 600 appearances for NAC Breda, PSV Eindhoven, and Feyenoord. As a manager, he has been head coach of NAC Breda, Excelsior, and VVV-Venlo, while also serving as an assistant coach at Red Bull Salzburg, PAOK, Stuttgart, Wolfsburg, and Samsunspor.

Zenkovic worked as an assistant coach at Werder Bremen between 2020 and 2022 before joining Belgian side Club Brugge and later German club RB Leipzig.

Thomas Reis joins Ludogorets after a highly successful spell with Turkish side Samsunspor. Taking charge in 2024, he built a competitive squad and guided the club to a historic third-place finish in the 2024/25 Süper Lig season—their best league result in decades. The achievement secured Samsunspor a place in European club competition for the first time in nearly 30 years.

The team's success continued in Europe. Under Reis, Samsunspor progressed through the league phase of the UEFA Conference League and reached the knockout rounds, reinforcing the German coach's reputation and establishing the Turkish club as one of the competition's surprise packages.

Before moving to Turkey, Reis earned a strong reputation in Germany. As head coach of VfL Bochum, he won the 2020/21 2. Bundesliga title and led the club back to the Bundesliga after an 11-year absence. He later managed Schalke 04, having previously worked in the youth academies of Bochum and Wolfsburg.

PFC Ludogorets wishes Thomas Reis and his coaching staff every success as they take charge of the 14-time Bulgarian champions.