Football Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg has released coach Ralph Hasenhüttl with immediate effect. The Lower Saxony announced this late Sunday. In the two remaining season games, U19 coach Daniel Bauer takes over the team.
VfL reacted to the continued sporting crisis. It was only on Saturday that the “Wolves” had received a 0: 4 (0: 1) bankruptcy at Borussia Dortmund. The Lower Saxony have been without victory for eight games, six games were lost. Due to the negative series, VfL gambled away its chance of a European Cup square.
“The results and the development in the past few months have made the decision in us to react now. We have made this decision in close coordination with the Supervisory Board Presidium,” said Managing Director Peter Christiansen.
“Wolves” far behind their own requirements
Hasenhüttl, whose contract runs until 2026, took over the team from Niko Kovac in March of the previous year and led to relegation last season. “He succeeded in stabilizing the team and leading them into safe fairway. We would like to thank him for that,” said Christiansen.
In the current season, it looked like it in the first half of the season as if VfL could possibly play around the Champions League ranks, but since the end of January a violent crash followed with just two league.
Above all, the balance in your own stadium is a big disappointment. Against the relegation candidates Holstein Kiel (2: 2), VfL Bochum (1: 1), FC St. Pauli (1: 1) and 1. FC Heidenheim (0: 1), no victory was achieved in spring.
Who gets Managing Director Christiansen?
In the past few weeks, the references to a separation from the Austrian have multiplied after the end of the season. The search for his successor should already be in full swing. St. Pauli’s chief coach Alexander Blessin is also traded in the media as a possible candidate.
Hasenhüttl relied on fast shifting football. A game idea was missing when possessing their own ball. This revenge in numerous encounters – and Christiansen also misleaded. The Dane had come to the current season to lead the club back to success after three seasons without a European Cup qualification. At that time, Hasenhüttl had already been in office.
Hasenhüttl was the tenth VfL coach in ten years
Now the sports manager has the opportunity to install his very own desired coach. But he too is under pressure to succeed in the “wolves”, which has not come to rest in terms of sport since the Champions League qualification 2021. Christiansen has been the third sports manager since then. And in Hasenhüttl the fourth coach has already failed since Oliver Glasner. He was the tenth chief coach in just ten years.
Reason enough for the Hasenhüttl predecessor and today’s BVB coach Niko Kovac after the 4-0 of his Borussia via VfL on Saturday for more patience with the football coaches. “In general, you have little time in the Bundesliga or in our business. But you have to ask yourself when you look at how many coaches have been here in recent years, whether it is always due to the coach,” Kovac said about the coaching situation in Wolfsburg.
Debut from Bauer on Friday against Hoffenheim
InterimScoach Bauer, who is supported by U19-Co coach Julian Klamt and U16 head coach Tobias Holm, makes his debut on Friday (8:30 p.m., in the NDR Livcenter) against TSG Hoffenheim. On the last day of the match on May 17th, the former German champion will be a guest at Borussia Mönchengladbach.
This topic in the program:
Sports club | 04.05.2025 | 10:50 p.m.
