Fix!
Ex-Bayern coach Niko Kovac becomes a coach in Wolfsburg
Created: 05/24/2022, 11:59 am
By: Antonio Jose Riether
Niko Kovac is back in the Bundesliga.
After his release in Munich in November 2019, he worked in Monaco, and in future he will be in charge of VFL Wolfsburg.
Update from May 24, 2022:
It's fixed!
Niko Kovac returns to the Bundesliga after two and a half years.
He becomes coach of the Bundesliga soccer club VfL Wolfsburg.
The former coach of Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt follows Florian Kohfeldt and has signed a contract until 2025. VfL announced this on Tuesday.
His brother Robert Kovac will support the 50-year-old as an assistant coach, as he did at AS Monaco, in Munich and Frankfurt as well as with the Croatian national team.
Official: Kovac becomes head coach at VfL Wolfsburg - "Child of the Bundesliga"
"I'm a child of the Bundesliga and I'm very keen and motivated to start another successful chapter with the Wolves," said Kovac on his return to the Bundesliga.
"The talks with Jörg Schmadtke and Marcel Schäfer were very good and trusting and convinced me to accept this exciting challenge," the 50-year-old continued.
"The team has enormous potential and the conditions for optimal and successful work are in place."
Born in Berlin, he should continue the successful work and strict principles of Oliver Glasner and Bruno Labbadia.
Under these two coaches, VfL Wolfsburg developed between 2018 and 2021 from being almost relegated to a Champions League participant.
In the past 2021/22 season, however, the team under Mark van Bommel and Florian Kohfeldt lost almost all the qualities that had made them strong before: will to win, unity, fitness, their tactical identity.
Kovac is known for promoting just such virtues.
"He stands for consistent and success-oriented work and I am convinced that the team will bear his signature in the years to come," said VfL Managing Director Schmadtke.
Ex-Bayern coach Niko Kovac before returning to the Bundesliga
First report from May 20, 2022: Wolfsburg – The former Bayern coach Niko Kovac will be on the sidelines again in the Bundesliga from next season.
As the Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung reports, citing members of the club's supervisory board, the 50-year-old is due to switch to VfL Wolfsburg in the summer.
The Lower Saxony recently released their previous coach Florian Kohfeldt
Niko Kovac |
Born: October 15, 1971 |
Place of birth: Berlin |
Previous positions as a coach: Croatia, Eintracht Frankfurt, FC Bayern, AS Monaco |
Niko Kovac: Wolfsburg instead of Premier League – ex-Bayern coach returns to the Bundesliga
As the Wolfsburger Nachrichten want to know, Kovac should get a contract with VfL until 2025, so the commitment of the new coach will be officially announced on Friday.
On Thursday evening, apparently, only the final details had to be clarified with the native of Berlin, who was high on the Wolves' list of candidates.
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At first it was not clear whether the former Croatian national coach wanted to return to Germany.
Apparently Kovac preferred a move to the English Premier League, but now he is apparently coming back to Germany, where he has already had some successes.
Niko Kovac is apparently the new Wolfsburg coach.
© Michael Weber/imago-images
Niko Kovac: VfL Wolfsburg third Bundesliga station for the Croatian
The Croatian sensationally won the DFB Cup in the final against FC Bayern Munich with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2018, only to win the double the following season as coach of Munich.
In his second year in Munich, however, he had to leave the Gut in November 2019 and joined the French first division club AS Monaco, which he coached until last turn of the year.
VfL Wolfsburg has had an eventful season.
It was not until October 2021 that the club released Autostadt coach Mark van Bommel, who was ninth with the Wolves.
But even under Kohfeldt there was not the consistency hoped for, Wolfsburg ended the season in a disappointing 12th place in the table and missed the European starting places by far.
(ajr)