After four defeats in a row: Wolfsburg throws out coach van Bommel

After four defeats in a row
Wolfsburg throws out coach van Bommel

With immediate effect, Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg has kicked out coach Mark van Bommel. About 24 hours after the 2-0 defeat against SC Freiburg is over for the ex-Bavarians at the Wolves. The reason is a series of bankruptcies in the past few weeks.

The oaths of loyalty did not last 24 hours. On Saturday, those responsible at VfL Wolfsburg had expressed their confidence in their coach Mark van Bommel – but on Sunday they served him cold. And that much earlier than expected. “The bottom line was that there were more separating than connecting factors,” explained managing director Jörg Schmadtke in a press release that read very business-like, the first coach dismissal of the season in the upper house: “The conviction to get out of the difficult sporting situation in this constellation and to bring about the U-turn as quickly as possible was missing. “

Sure, VfL had conceded their fourth league defeat in a row with their grandiose Champions League ambitions in the 0: 2 (0: 1) against SC Freiburg – but still the patience seemed not to be strained, let alone broken. “It’s not an easy phase, but a challenge that we are facing,” said sports director Marcel Schäfer live on Sky. Overnight, however, the realization matured that someone else would face this challenge. How hard this hit van Bommel was clear from the club’s declaration, which has certainly been polished several times.

He was “surprised and disappointed” with the decision, said the 44-year-old, who only took over the club in the summer. “Because I am convinced that together we would have managed to get back on the road to success. I wish the team that they can quickly turn things around again.” The Wolfsburg-based company wants to provide information about the successor “promptly”.

Results lag behind claims

There was therefore an astonishing parallel to 2012: At that time, the VfL championship coach Felix Magath also lost the home game against Freiburg after three Bundesliga defeats in a series, he was then also on leave. SC trainer was already back then: Christian Streich. In the end, he had tried in vain to stand up for his Dutch colleague despite the tentative “Van Bommel out!” Shouts of the VfL fans. “We should leave the church in the village. The stadium wasn’t that full, you could hear that there weren’t any shouts against the coach, it was just someone shouting,” he said.

That was a matter of interpretation. It is undisputed, however, that the poor performance of the North Germans, who are in the Champions League in a feasible group without a win after three games, did not meet the requirements. Van Bommel was still confident on Saturday: “We’ll get out of this situation one hundred percent, even if it’s taking too long for me.” In the end, his own time ran out quickly.

Van Bommel had introduced himself very poorly with his mistake in the DFB Cup, which led to the embarrassing first round off at the green table against Prussia Münster. Then VfL got the curve – only to slip into a black series of eight games without a win. This cost van Bommel the job on Sunday: despite all oaths of loyalty.

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