Coach Niko Kovac is coming under increasing pressure at VfL Wolfsburg. After the 0-1 defeat at Borussia Mönchengladbach in the DFB Cup, the coach demonstratively praised his players – who may have to save his job in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
Not going well: Niko Kovac. IMAGO/eu-images
It was bitter, no question. Finally, VfL Wolfsburg had several top-class chances in the DFB Cup against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Tuesday to make it into the quarter-finals perfect. The Lower Saxony team, understandably given the past few weeks, did not present themselves with a broad chest and many impressive combinations – and yet around three weeks after the 4-0 defeat against Borussia at the same venue, they finally got themselves into a position to play an away game again win.
However, nothing came of it. Because top chances were miserably missed and in the crucial situation shortly before the end of extra time, almost everyone’s defensive work was criminally neglected. “Football is a beautiful and at the same time a cruel sport,” said coach Niko Kovac with a bittersweet expression. He knows that soon no one will be interested in the manner in which the defeat occurred, and in the end the result is clear: VfL is out of the cup.
The team has the quality to make the next games successful.
And the coach has one less argument to point to the further development of his team. A team that still received praise from him. “She fought brilliantly and worked passionately.” Things that Kovac had missed in the 3-1 defeat in Bochum could now at least be seen again. Although these are all points that form the basis of a successful football team. The cup exit hurts even more in this difficult situation for VfL and its senior staff, who urgently need a sense of success. Kovac says: “The team has the quality to make the next games successful.”
Boss Schäfer emphasizes the commonality
This belief of the coach must become a reality if Kovac wants to be in charge at VfL in the new year. The league is now against Freiburg, Darmstadt and Munich. The Croatian still has the backing of his bosses, managing director Marcel Schäfer emphasized to kicker on Wednesday: “We have to work our way out of this situation together.” Kovac continues to be part of this Wolfsburg community, Schäfer, as he also learned from his “mentor” Jörg Schmadtke, is not someone who allows himself to be driven by the public.
Nevertheless, Kovac, this experienced football teacher, also knows that he now has to deliver results as quickly as possible so that support is not withdrawn from him. Boss Schäfer is counting on the team to recover as quickly as possible from the late shock in Gladbach. “I hope that this painful defeat doesn’t set us back, but that the team has realized what they can do if they take certain things to heart.” She has to show this on Saturday (3:30 p.m., LIVE! on kicker) against Freiburg.
2023-12-06 16:27:01
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