“He stands for consistent and success-oriented work and I am convinced that the team will bear his signature in the years to come,” said Jörg Schmadtke. The VfL managing director and Kovac have known and valued each other since a season together as Bayer Leverkusen players (1997/98).
“The talks with Jörg Schmadtke and Marcel Schäfer were very good and trusting and convinced me to accept this exciting challenge,” explained Kovac. “The team has enormous potential and the conditions for optimal and successful work are in place.”
A return to old virtues?
Under Oliver Glasner and Bruno Labbadia, VfL had developed from being almost relegated to a Champions League participant between 2018 and 2021. Last season, however, the team under Mark van Bommel and Florian Kohfeldt lost almost all the qualities that had previously made them strong: the will to win, unity, fitness, and their tactical identity.
At first, however, it was unclear whether Kovac wanted to return to the Bundesliga. He was said to prefer a move to the English Premier League. Kovac had last looked after AS Monaco for a year and a half. The native of Berlin was released from his duties at the French Ligue 1 club at the beginning of the year.
Kovac has a lot of Bundesliga experience
After Frankfurt (2018 cup winner) and FC Bayern (double winner 2019), Wolfsburg is Kovac’s third coaching position in Germany’s top floor. The 50-year-old also coached the Croatian national team for two years, which he led to the 2014 World Cup. He also gained a lot of experience as a player in the Bundesliga. Kovac made 241 first division appearances for Hertha BSC, Leverkusen, Hamburger SV and Bayern.
This topic in the program:
Sports current | 05/24/2022 | 12:17 p.m
Source: NDR