Successor for Heitinga wanted
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Paul Simonis could start a new coaching job shortly after leaving VfL Wolfsburg. In his home country of the Netherlands, Ajax is looking for a successor after separating from John Heitinga and the Amsterdam team is said to have contacted Simonis. Ex-Leverkusen player Erik ten Hag is also considered a candidate.
Among others, the Dutch newspaper “De Telegraaf” and the TV channel “Sky” are talking about Ajax contacting Simonis. The technical director Alex Kroes is said to have contacted the coach. Simonis was said to have been an issue in Ajax’s search for a coach for the 2025/26 season last summer. He had just surprisingly won the cup with league rivals Go Ahead Eagles Deventer and thus reached the Europa League. Ultimately, Heitinga became the new coach at Ajax and Simonis moved to VfL Wolfsburg.
In the Autostadt it was over for Ralph Hasenhüttl’s successor after twelve games. The separation was announced on Sunday. Under his leadership, VfL is in 14th place after two wins in ten Bundesliga games and was eliminated in the second round of the DFB Cup against second division club Holstein Kiel (0-1). Ultimately, Simonis scored an average of 0.92 points – Hasenhüttl’s was 1.36 in 44 games.
Heitinga also achieved this value in 14 games at Ajax. The 41-year-old had to leave last Thursday for the Amsterdam team, who are fourth in the Eredivisie and have suffered significant defeats in all four games in the Champions League so far. Immediately after Heitingas Aus, the name ten Hag circulated around the Johan Cruijff ArenA. Contact is also said to have been made with the 55-year-old. He had his most successful time with Ajax between 2017 and 2022, including the club’s last championship title.