No relaxed smile, no big gestures, no cheeky sayings – Niko Kovac didn’t show anything afterwards. “It wasn’t all bad before and now not everything is great,” said the quiet connoisseur after his VfL Wolfsburg’s so important 3: 2 (2: 2) against VfB Stuttgart: “We are happy and happy, but it is only three points.”
But for Kovac, this long-awaited victory means more than three points. After all, he ended the discussion about his job first. Before that, Managing Director Jörg Schmadtke and Chairman of the Supervisory Board Frank Witter had felt compelled to express their confidence in their coach, who had come under criticism. And Kovac has been in business long enough to know that this could be the beginning of the end.
But in this wild basement duel in front of 24,125 spectators, the factory club finally showed what Kovac sees – his team worked, digged, bit, didn’t give up and even played decent football from time to time.
“Success brings self-confidence”
“I hope that gives us the boost we need,” said Kovac after he and his wolves had climbed out of the bottom of the table. Next week they want to follow up in Augsburg. “Success brings faith, success brings confidence,” said Kovac.
And the success now brings a little calm. After all, it seems to be possible without the retired Max Kruse. “I think everything has already been said about Max Kruse,” said match winner Yannick Gerhardt, who forced the win in injury time. The three points are “very important for the morale” of the team, after all “we hit back in the last minute”.
Before Gerhardt (90+1), Omar Marmoush (23′) and Captain Maximilian Arnold (38′) scored for Wolfsburg. The goals of Serhou Guirassy (22nd) and Konstantinos Mavropanos (45th + 1) were not enough for Stuttgart.
The pressure on Kovac increased
The team “of course noticed” that the pressure on Kovac was increasing recently, said Gerhardt, who was in the starting eleven for the first time this Bundesliga season after a ligament injury: “Unfortunately, we have had too many coaches at VfL in recent years worn.”
Kovac shouldn’t be next. As a coach, you don’t get forever “if you don’t score points,” said Gerhardt. But the team is “convinced” of the way.
What Kovac recently experienced in Wolfsburg is now also threatening his colleague Pellegrino Matarazzo in Stuttgart: discussions about his post. But according to sports director Sven Mislintat, the 44-year-old is 16th in the table. “not part of the analysis” in times of crisis.
The turning point should succeed in the next three home games. “We’ve always shown in the past that we’re able to get back up. That’s part of our DNA,” said Matarazzo: “I believe we can do it now.”