Waiting for first win
Despite the bad start to the season in the Bundesliga, coach Niko Kovac enjoys the trust of the club management at VfL Wolfsburg. In a week in which Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea and Domenico Tedesco at cup winners RB Leipzig had to leave prematurely, the 50-year-old also appreciates that. “It’s nice to have support in the situation we’re in now. It’s getting less and less. And it’s a lot faster than it was tens of years ago,” said Kovac on Thursday at the press conference before the duel with Eintracht Frankfurt.
“But that’s the cycle. Those are the things a coach has to deal with. All those who sign a contract also automatically sign the notice of termination,” he emphasized. Born in Berlin, he came to the “Wolves” for the new season, where his working paper is dated 2025. A look at his CV shows that he never stayed at one station for more than around two years. Meanwhile, the task in Wolfsburg started extremely badly with two draws and three defeats from the first five Bundesliga games – but Kovac is convinced of his work. “We are not deviating from this path. Because I know: I’ve walked this path a few times as a coach. And this path is bearing fruit,” he said. “Sometimes a little later, sometimes a little earlier.”
On Saturday, Kovac has to play with VfL at his ex-club Eintracht Frankfurt, which he led to league status in 2016 and to the DFB Cup victory in 2018. With 91 games, he was more often on the touchline at any other club. Of his return, he said: “I continue to make friends there. That is beautiful. It’s a great atmosphere in the stadium. Back then, when I was in Munich, I said: These are the best fans. I’m looking forward to it. But I still hope that we can take something away from there.” The coach also had an answer ready for how this should work: “We have to reduce the mistakes, serious mistakes. Three games in a row we get penalties against us. That shows that we have a lot of catching up to do in defence. We have to work together as a team against the ball, everyone has to be there for the other.” Only Bochum, Schalke – and Frankfurt have conceded ten goals at the moment.
Since the promotion to the Bundesliga: All Wolfsburg coaches with a record
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