As of: March 17, 2024 5:21 p.m
VfL Wolfsburg reacted to the sporting decline in the Bundesliga on Sunday and parted ways with coach Niko Kovac. A few hours later, the Lower Saxony team presented Ralph Hasenhüttl as their successor.
The factory club, which started the season with European Cup ambitions, has been without a win in eleven games and has slipped to 14th place. The 1:3 defeat on Saturday afternoon against FC Augsburg was also the third defeat in a row for the “Wolves”. After just six wins in 26 games, those responsible for the 2009 champions pulled the emergency brake the next day and gave the coach the runaround. According to media reports, the club’s higher-ups had already specifically considered the end of the collaboration in the summer, even though the contract with the Croatian was dated until 2025.
Further information
The Austrian succeeds Niko Kovac at the Bundesliga club, from whom the factory club parted ways on Sunday morning. more
“The team needs a new impulse,” said sports director Marcel Schäfer on NDR on Sunday. They stuck with Kovac and his coaching team for a long time because they valued their work very much. Now the club is at a point where you have to look at “developments independent of the game”.
Hasenhüttl takes over at VfL
Ralph Hasenhüttl is now supposed to achieve the “turnaround” with VfL. The 56-year-old signed a “long-term contract” with the “Wolves,” as the club said in a statement on Sunday afternoon. Kovac’s successor will be officially presented at a press conference on Monday afternoon (12 p.m.).
The new coach now has a little more time to get to know the team during the upcoming international break. Hasenhüttl will only make his debut on the sidelines on Easter Saturday (3:30 p.m., in the NDR Livecenter) in the away game at Werder Bremen.
Image gallery
Ludwig Lachner was the first, Imre Farkasinszki went to VfL Wolfsburg three times. The “Wolves” trainers at a glance. Image gallery
The negative series has now even put VfL in danger of relegation. The lead over relegation place 16 is only six points. “After the defeat against FC Augsburg, we came to the decision to end the cooperation after internally assessing the game and our overall situation,” explained Schäfer: “We regret the development and believe it is necessary to give the team a new impetus to stabilize the situation.”
VfL passed in the table after a good start
Kovac followed Florian Kohfeldt in Wolfsburg in the summer of 2022. In the first season, the 52-year-old finished eighth in the table with Lower Saxony. The current season started promisingly with four wins from the first six games. However, VfL was unable to maintain this good form and gradually fell through the table. The 52-year-old didn’t get enough out of a well-staffed squad that was strengthened last summer for more than 70 million euros, especially in terms of play. The hoped-for sporting development did not take place under him as hoped.
However, those responsible for the club stuck with the former coach of AS Monaco for a long time, as the team showed decent performances in many matches, but was not rewarded for their great effort.
Kovac: “Failed to achieve the turnaround”
“Of course, as head coach, I am particularly disappointed that we were not able to achieve a turnaround despite promising approaches,” said Kovac: “We wish the team, the entire club and its fans the very best for the rest of the season and for the future.” In addition to the head coach, the assistant coaches Robert Kovac and Aaron Briggs were also relieved of their duties.
Further information
After the eleventh winless game in a row, the coach no longer received quick support from his superiors. more
Results, table standings and match days at a glance. more
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sports club | 17.03.2024 | 10:50 p.m