After his months-long break, Ralph Hasenhüttl was forced back onto the football field. “It wasn’t that I got bored at home. But the knowledge in your head that you have after such a long time as a head coach is longing to be used again,” he said on Monday when he was introduced as the new coach of VfL Wolfsburg.
18.03.2024 14.16
Online since yesterday, 2:16 p.m. (update: yesterday, 8:21 p.m.)
The 56-year-old Austrian succeeds Niko Kovac, with whom the Bundesliga club from Lower Saxony parted ways on Sunday after just two wins in 20 games. Hasenhüttl received a long-term contract. The exact duration was not mentioned.
“It’s a very good opportunity to get back into it. “I didn’t have to think long before committing to VfL,” said Hasenhüttl. The Bundesliga is the league “to which I owe a lot, where I was able to earn my first laurels, where I acquired the knowledge to make the leap into the Premier League.”
Hasenhüttl introduced as Wolfsburg’s new coach
After his months-long break, Ralph Hasenhüttl was forced back onto the football field. “It wasn’t that I got bored at home. But the knowledge in your head that you have after such a long time as a head coach is longing to be used again,” he said on Monday when he was introduced as the new coach of VfL Wolfsburg.
Clear goals: staying in the league and stabilizing
The task in Wolfsburg is relatively clear. “We have to try to win again in order to stay in the league and stabilize ourselves,” said Hasenhüttl.
“Ultimately it’s about bringing your (own) brand of football into the team as quickly as possible.” Wolfsburg are 14th in the table after matchday 26. and are only six points ahead of the relegation relegation place.
Hasenhüttl was “empty” after Southampton
Hasenhüttl coached Southampton FC from December 2018 to November 2022. He previously worked for FC Ingolstadt from 2013 to 2016 and led the club to the Bundesliga. He then worked at RB Leipzig from 2016 to 2018.
After his time in Southampton he was “empty”. He couldn’t imagine that the desire to return would come back. “But when you work in the business for so long as a player and then as a coach, the knowledge has to be brought back onto the pitch,” said the Austrian.
