Never worse after 23 match days
©IMAGO
VfL Wolfsburg has been waiting for a win for six games, and in the Bundesliga table the Lower Saxony are now just one point ahead of a direct relegation zone. Sports director Peter Christiansen demonstratively supported Wolves coach Daniel Bauer last weekend, but according to a report in the “Bild” newspaper, the coaching market is being explored. One person who, according to the paper, has internal advocates is Felix Magath.
It is said that he could certainly imagine the task at his former club. Magath led Wolfsburg to its first and only German championship between 2007 and 2009 in a dual role as coach and sports director (point average: 1.86).
During his time in office, transfers such as those of Grafite, Edin Dzeko and Andrea Barzagli took place. Between March 2011 and October 2012, the veteran took on the dual role again and scored an average of 1.23 points in 52 games. According to “Bild,” Magath’s biggest advocates in the Autostadt include VW boss Oliver Blume and champion goalkeeper Diego Benaglio, whom Magath also brought to the factory club in 2007. Both are members of the supervisory board at VfL.
The next few weeks will show what happens on the sidelines in Wolfsburg. With Stuttgart and Hoffenheim, two teams from the top third of the table await in March, as well as duels with direct competition from Werder Bremen and Hamburger SV. The fact is: VfL has never been so bad after a 23rd matchday in its Bundesliga history. “It will be difficult to stay in the Bundesliga. It’s very difficult. It’s one of the most difficult situations in my career,” said midfielder Yannick Gerhardt, who has been playing for VfL since 2016.
Former U19 coach Bauer initially took over the troubled team as interim coach in November before being promoted to a permanent solution with a fixed-term contract until 2027 shortly before Christmas. After the late defeat against Augsburg, the 43-year-old attested: “We behave partly like a school team. We simply lack the necessary punch, the aggressiveness and simply meters.” When asked whether he had to fear for his job, the coach said: “I’m not afraid for my future at all. I’m afraid for the future of the club.”
