His word carries weight at VfL Wolfsburg, even if Josuha Guilavogui actually had no future with Lower Saxony. The 32-year-old talks about the situation at VfL.
Strengthens VfL coach Niko Kovac: Wolfsburg’s veteran Josuha Guilavogui.
IMAGO/Revierfoto
Josuha Guilavogui was only a marginal figure. The ex-captain of VfL Wolfsburg like the fifth wheel on the wagon. The former midfield boss completed all of the preparation after his return from loan from Bordeaux in central defense, he himself no longer expected to play a sporting role again at the club to which he had switched in 2014.
The game turned everything, one moment can change everything.
“There were many scenarios for me,” explains Guilavogui in the kicker interview (Thursday edition). “Staying at VfL was just at the back of my mind.” Everything turned out differently: On the first matchday the Frenchman came on as a substitute against Werder Bremen (2:2), he saved a point with his goal and was suddenly important again. “The game turned everything, one moment can change everything.”
That will also be VfL’s hope in the bottom of the table in the Bundesliga. Wolfsburg in 17th place, the situation is serious. And since Guilavogui, who has withdrawn after his return from France (“I made myself as small as possible”) and is no longer represented on the team council, doesn’t want to sugarcoat anything: “We have to be warned and know: Yes, we are in danger.”
The same may also apply to Niko Kovac, whose coaching chair could shake badly in the event of further bankruptcies. Guilavogui, however, has the Croatian’s back and takes the team to task: “We have to stop it. Mark van Bommel was allegedly not good enough and is now successful in Belgium. Florian Kohfeldt also had to go again. Now Niko Kovac should go too? We players have a responsibility to make things better again.”
Guilavogui interprets Kovac’s statements positively
Kovac recently caused a lot of frowns in the team and club by saying that if necessary he and his brother and assistant coach Robert would have to play. How did the sentences go down with the team? Guilavogui: “I think he wants to take our honor with that. He knows we’re all in the same boat. I don’t think he meant to insult the team.”
In the kicker interview, Guilavogui also talks about offers in the summer, his role as a leading player and the reasons why things are not going well for VfL Wolfsburg this season either. Read the entire interview in the current issue of kicker – or as an e-paper on Wednesday evening.
