VfL Wolfsburg introduced its new coach Ralph Hasenhüttl on Monday. The Austrian has been without a club for a year and a half and now wants to show that there is more to the “Wolves”.
“The task now is relatively clear: That means we have to try to win again in order to stay in the league,” said the 56-year-old, calling out the relegation battle. “The primary goal is for us to stabilize. We still have eight match days to do that.” He wants his team to play “very lively” and to “fill this stadium again and inspire people again”.
After eleven games without a win in a row, Wolfsburg is only six points clear of the relegation zone. After the recent 3-1 defeat against Augsburg, head coach Niko Kovac was on leave, only a few hours later Hasenhüttl was hired as his successor and given a “longer-term contract”.
The first training session is on Tuesday. The fact that he now has two weeks until the first game due to the international break is only tempting at first glance. Because VfL has many national players in its squad, he will only get to know some of the team next week, before the away game at Werder Bremen on March 30th.
Hasenhüttl via Ingolstadt and Leipzig to Southampton
“I want to bring my kind of football into the team as quickly as possible,” emphasized Hasenhüttl, who sees himself on a “revival tour”. The former striker sensationally led FC Ingolstadt (2013 to 2016) into the Bundesliga for the first time. He then coached a top Bundesliga team at RB Leipzig (2016 to 2018) before working at FC Southampton in the English Premier League for four years.
“I want to bring my brand of football to the team as quickly as possible.”
— VfL coach Ralph Hasenhüttl
Afterwards he “felt pretty empty”. There was even talk of the end of his coaching career. However, he has been able to recover well over the past year and a half. On Monday, Hasenhüttl said at the press conference: “I’m very happy that I can sit here and be back in the Bundesliga. I felt hungry to want to work again. It’s a very good opportunity to get back in. I have “You don’t have to think twice before saying yes to VfL.”
Schindzielorz: “The trend should be stopped”
Sports director Sebastian Schindzielorz described the past few days as turbulent. After the game against Augsburg, which was “somewhat consistent with the last few weeks”, the club management “reviewed the whole situation and the game. We came to the conclusion that in the current situation it is important “To give the team a new impulse and to create a spirit of optimism,” emphasized the 45-year-old and added: “The trend should be stopped and the situation should be significantly stabilized.” The hope is to regain a “certain basic euphoria, optimism and belief in victories.”
Hasenhüttl accepts the task: “I want to prove with the club that we are capable of more. We have to earn respect again.” His experiences from previous positions should help: “The knowledge has to be put back on the field. I want to use it to work successfully.”
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NDR Info | March 18, 2024 | 14:00 clock
