Announcement before the last home game
©IMAGO
The decision about the coaching position at VfL Wolfsburg has been made. The Bundesliga club decided against an external solution and instead promoted interim coach Daniel Bauer to boss. According to the club, the 43-year-old will receive a long-term contract until 2027.
“Daniel once again took over the team in a difficult phase and not only stabilized it, but also developed it week after week,” said VfL sports director Peter Christiansen about Bauer, who had already stepped in for a short time last summer. “He managed to form a strong unit and bring new life into the team. It was important for us to first reorganize the sporting management and then make a well-founded decision together about the coaching position.” The new VfL sports director Pirmin Schwegler said: “The performances on the pitch – and also the results – speak for themselves. We are convinced that Daniel is the right man to achieve the best possible sporting success this season and beyond.”
Bauer took over from Paul Simonis in November and, as in his last term in office, made a good impression at the end of the 2024/25 season. Seven points were taken from four games, with only one defeat against Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Before the summer break he had scored four points in two games, so overall Bauer has an average of 1.83 points per game. Felix Magath last had a better record at VfL between 2007 and 2009 – the significance of these statistics is of course manageable after such a short time. Bauer now has plenty of time to make his first impression manifest.
Bauer wants to consistently continue on the path he has chosen at VfL
“I am very grateful for the club’s trust,” explained the new VfL head coach. “The team has worked extremely well in the last few weeks and has shown what potential it has. For us, it’s now about consistently continuing on this path with clarity, passion and cohesion. I’m looking forward to continuing to work on our development together with my coaching team and the players and getting everything out of it for VfL.”
Recently, the new sports director Schwegler had already indicated that a decision could be made for Bauer. “If we play like that, if we get such victories, then of course there is a lot to be said for him,” said the 38-year-old after the 3-1 win at Borussia Mönchengladbach. “It speaks extremely well for the coach how he managed the turnaround. The trend is right, that’s crucial.” Now the official announcement followed during the last game before the winter break against SC Freiburg (3:30 p.m., to the live ticker).