VfL Wolfsburg dismisses coach Simonis after bankruptcy at Werder Bremen

AUDIO: VfL Wolfsburg separates from coach Simonis (1 min)

With Simonis, assistant coaches Peter van der Veen, Tristan Berghuis and Martin Darneviel are also leaving the club. As the “Wolves” announced, U19 head coach Daniel Bauer will take over until further notice. The latter had already taken over the team on an interim basis two match days before the end of the season last year. Under the leadership of the 43-year-old, the Lower Saxony team scored four points in the games against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (2:2) and Borussia Mönchengladbach (1:0). Bauer will lead the training for the first time today at 12 p.m.

“The decision to release Paul Simonis was not an easy one for us.”

VfL managing director Peter Christiansen

“After an intensive exchange with the supervisory board, we came to the conclusion that a change is now needed in order to bring stability and success to the pitch. We all bear responsibility for the current situation – the sporting management, the coaching team, the players and the entire club,” said Managing Director Sport Peter Christiansen about the reasons for the dismissal.

“We really valued his work, his ideas and also his interaction with the team – that’s exactly why this step hurts me personally. Nevertheless, we have to be honest: in football, results and points count in the end, and the development in the last few weeks hasn’t gone as we all hoped,” said the Dane.

Seven defeats in the last eight games

The “Wolves” lost the northern duel at Werder Bremen 1-2 at the last second on Friday evening. It was the seventh defeat in the last eight games for Lower Saxony – and it sealed the end for Simonis. The football teacher, who was brought in from the Dutch club Go Ahead Eagles Deventer in the summer, was relieved of his duties.

The 40-year-old was responsible for the 2009 champions in just twelve competitive games. His contract with VfL runs until June 30, 2027.

Before the game it was “win or fly” for the VfL coach. Wolfsburg lost – albeit in a particularly bitter way.

Only two Bundesliga wins in nine games

The Dutchman followed Ralph Hasenhüttl on the Mittelland Canal, who had been released shortly before the end of the last series. Under the successful coach of the Go Ahead Eagles, Wolfsburg wanted to attack the international starting positions again. But after a decent start to the Bundesliga with five points from the first three matches, things went steeply downhill in the Autostadt.

The only thing that followed was a very lucky 1-0 win at Hamburger SV, which, however, could no longer stop the downward trend. After the cup exit against second division Holstein Kiel (0:1) and further defeats against Hoffenheim (2:3) and Werder, those responsible for the “Wolves” were now forced to act.

Is Labbadia celebrating a comeback in Wolfsburg?

Behind the scenes, the Bundesliga club is trying to find a coach with significantly more first division experience. Like Urs Fischer, who is celebrating great success with Union Berlin. Or like Thomas Reis (Samsunspor), who trained the U19 team in Wolfsburg from 2016 to 2019.

Bruno Labbadia has also been considered a candidate to succeed Simonis in recent days. The former striker led the factory club into the Europa League in 2019 and is currently without a club.

Since Labbadia’s departure, five other trainers, including Simonis, have tried their hand at Wolfsburg. With the exception of Oliver Glasner (from 2019 to 2021), everyone failed.

Christiansen and Schindzielorz also come under criticism

So the car club doesn’t necessarily seem to have a coaching problem, but rather a management problem. And so managing director Peter Christiansen and sports director Sebastian Schindzielorz are also heavily criticized. They are accused of the obviously unbalanced composition of the squad.

The club’s press release makes no mention of the situation of the two senior employees. The only thing that seems certain is that the two have been entrusted with the search for a new coach. What happens next remains to be seen. There are also enough arguments against Chritiansen and Schindzielorz…

Results, table standings and match days at a glance.