Playing career ended
©IMAGO
After a year without a club, former Wolfsburg player Josuha Guilavogui recently announced the end of his career. Now the Frenchman is planning his future, which will be in Germany. Despite previous rumors that Guilavogui could become sports director at relegated former club VfL, the 35-year-old would rather be a coach. He takes the new Bayern youth coach Dante and Atlético icon Diego Simeone as his role models. In an interview with L’Équipe, Guilavogui also spoke about his biggest mistake as a player.
“That caused quite a stir,” said Guilavogui about speculation that he could return to Wolfsburg as an official. “But I will try my luck as a coach. That motivates me a lot. Many of my former coaches – like Niko Kovac, David Guion, Mark van Bommel and Aaron Briggs – encourage me to take this path. I want to pass on my knowledge. Maybe I’ll start with the second team, similar to Dante.” The ex-Munich player also ended his playing career after this season and was immediately hired as a coach at FC Bayern for the regional league team.
Guilavogui is currently still a long way from Dante’s path. The trainer licenses are missing. The former midfielder added about his plans: “My goal is to train at the highest level. The paths are so diverse; I have to open the doors first. First I’ll get my coaching licenses. I would really like to train in Germany; that’s the league I know best.” After 265 competitive games for Wolfsburg, Guilavogui was also under contract with Mainz 05 for another season.
Guilavogui: Move from Wolfsburg to Bordeaux “biggest failure”
A loan to Girondins Bordeaux slowly brought Guilavogui’s Wolfsburg chapter to an end from January 2022. Six months later he returned to Lower Saxony, but left the Wolves, contrary to the club’s wishes, on a free transfer after another season – after nine years. He now described going to Bordeaux as his “biggest failure” and “a huge disappointment”. Guilavogui said: “I left Wolfsburg because of my ego.” Although he was an important figure in the team as captain, “I saw that the club was signing other players.” He himself experienced a season to forget in 2020/21 due to several injuries in the spring and fall of 2020. In 2021/22 his playing time initially increased again, but home called.
“Bordeaux offered me a long-term project,” Guilavogui recalled. “It was also an opportunity to return to France with my family.” Then he moved to the Garonne “full of hope,” “convinced that he could save the club and win titles.” But Girondins was relegated and was later even sent down to the fourth division due to financial difficulties. Guilavogui was forced to return to Wolfsburg after 15 games.
Guilavogui didn’t stay there for long either. As he revealed, VfL offered him a two-year contract plus an option for another season, including a transition plan for a career in Wolfsburg after his active career. Guilavogui refused. “I experienced this emptiness, these moments of fear when you see the others driving to the training camp with their new equipment. They call you via FaceTime,” said Guilavogui about the first time after saying goodbye to Wolfsburg. “At first it’s okay because you’re on vacation, with your family, with your children. But then the children go back to school and you feel lost.”
Guilavogui wants to experience “that adrenaline rush” again
Suddenly Guilavogui “only had free time.” He stated: “You feel like something is missing because you always had the same rhythm of life. I remember Laurent Batlles telling me how happy he was to take his children to school in Saint-Étienne. I, on the other hand, played video games late into the night; I didn’t understand it. In professional life it is important to have hobbies, to plan ahead and to pursue ‘satellite’ activities that become more and more important after retirement.”
After a year without a club, Guilavogui is now set to enter a new chapter in the coaching business. “There’s a lot of talk about counter-pressing these days,” he said when asked what kind of coach he wanted to be. “Personally, I’m a big fan of possession-oriented football,” replied Guilavogui. “Successful teams master ball control. Like all players, as a young man I thought: ‘I’ll never be a coach, I don’t like it’, but if you really love football, you want to experience that adrenaline rush, the boots, the training sessions again. At Atlético Madrid, Diego Simeone remained a player at heart. He took part in rondo exercises, hit crosses during training sessions. I want to take on this challenge – the leadership task, making sure that very gathering different individuals behind a common idea.”