The VfL leadership “continued and intensified the analysis of the season on Saturday evening and Sunday morning and in the end we had to ask ourselves how resilient further cooperation would be,” said VfL managing director Jörg Schmadtke: “We have come to the realization We came to the conclusion that we were under pressure right from the start, which would mean too much of a burden for the team, coach and club. That’s why we mutually agreed in trusting and honest discussions to end our cooperation.”
Missed season minimums
Kohfeldt had signed a contract with the “Wolves” until the summer of 2023 as the successor to the hapless Mark van Bommel. At the time, VfL was ninth in the league and was playing in the group stage of the Champions League. On Saturday, Wolfsburg ended the season in twelfth place after beating champions Bayern Munich 2-2. The ambitious works club was the last to say goodbye to the group stage of the premier class before Christmas and thus also missed the minimum goal of the Europa League.
Kohfeldt: “Leave team in stable condition”
Nevertheless, both Schmadtke and sports director Marcel Schäfer Kohfeldt had recently had their backs and talked publicly about wanting to compete with him next season. Kohfeldt himself did not give the impression on Saturday that he saw his future in Wolfsburg in danger. “I’m particularly looking forward to the start of the new season, when we want to perform more regularly than we did in the second half,” he said.
Nevertheless, the separation took place. “I took over the team during a complex and difficult phase with the task of stabilizing it. We had to deal with a lot of imponderables, especially in the second half of the season, which made this task extremely difficult. Nevertheless, we managed to do it together, three games before the end of the season to reach the safe bank and start a development. I’m happy to leave the team in a stable condition.”
Who could be the successor?
Some names for a possible successor were already circulating on Sunday. Now Markus Weinzierl (Augsburg) or Adi Hütter (Gladbach) could also come into focus at VfL. Both coaches announced on Saturday that they will soon be without a club.