Sport Kovac successor
Ralph Hasenhüttl is the new coach of VfL Wolfsburg
Status: 18.03.2024 | Reading time: 2 minutes
It only took VfL Wolfsburg a few hours to find a successor for Niko Kovac. The new coach has already had success in Leipzig, Ingolstadt and in the English Premier League.
The Austrian Ralph Hasenhüttl is the new coach of VfL Wolfsburg. The Bundesliga announced this on Sunday just a few hours after parting ways with previous head coach Niko Kovac. Hasenhüttl signed a long-term contract with Lower Saxony. The 56-year-old will be introduced on Monday and will conduct his first training session in Wolfsburg on Tuesday. “Kicker” and “Bild” had previously reported on the upcoming commitment.
Hasenhüttl should first lead VfL, which is still winless this year, out of the relegation zone and then, next season at the latest, pursue the goals that Kovac failed to achieve: a place in an international competition. In the Bundesliga, Lower Saxony will face Werder Bremen after the international break on March 30th.
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The “Bild” newspaper had already reported on Wolfsburg’s interest in Hasenhüttl in January. In addition to his Bundesliga experience, the former Bayern Munich II striker also has many successes as a coach. He led FC Ingolstadt to the first division in 2015 and RB Leipzig to the Champions League in 2017 as promoted teams. From 2018 to 2022 he worked in the strongest league in the world: for Southampton FC in the English Premier League.
Kovac’s separation was already clear
According to the “Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung”, the separation from Kovac was not messy. Accordingly, the club and the coach had already agreed to end their cooperation in the summer, even though Kovac’s contract was valid until 2025. He was therefore prepared to forego half of the annual salary of around 3.5 million euros to which he was still entitled. This separation was completed a few months earlier.
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In 2024, Wolfsburg are still without a win. Above all, Kovac didn’t get enough out of a well-staffed squad that was strengthened in the summer for more than 70 million euros in terms of play. The hoped-for sporting development never took place under him. “Of course, as head coach I am particularly disappointed that we were unable to achieve a turnaround despite promising approaches,” said Kovac.
