Wolfsburg hit new low after latest Bundesliga loss: “The club isn’t healthy.”

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Morale has hit rock bottom at VfL Wolfsburg after the team’s latest Bundesliga loss. With rumors circulating that the club is thinking about sacking head coach Daniel Bauer, the coach himself conceded that his team needed a complete overhaul while conducting his post-match interview and speaking at Sunday’s post-match press conference. Bauer didn’t sound like a man expecting to keep his job after the 4-0 away defeat to Stuttgart. 

Bauer’s post match interview

“The same mistakes keep recurring,” Bauer told DAZN. “We did put up a fight. It’s not as if the boys aren’t trying. The fact is that we need to change structures. The atmosphere and culture within the club are currently not suitable for the Bundesliga. We need to reconsider the entire framework.

“Some processes have been set in motion,” Bauer continued. “But this is a very difficult path and things take time. Football is still a results-oriented sport. All that matters is what takes place on the pitch. Ultimately, it’s up to the team to perform differently.“

Bauer’s press conference statements

“We had problems with a lot of things we worked on in training this week,” Bauer noted in his opening statement. “It was a brutal first half. Our reaction in the second half [Bauer employed three substitutions] was less about tactics. We tried to throw everything in there, but it wasn’t enough. I told the guys that we’re going to have to find the right squad to fight against Hamburg next week.“

“What was said in the sanctuary of the locker room should stay there,” Bauer said in response to a later question. “I’m fully prepared to continue to traverse this difficult path with all my energy. I fully aware of my responsibilities and I’m happy to shoulder these responsibilities. I hope that I’ll be permitted to coach the team next week against HSV, but I’m not the one who makes those decisions.”

Wolfsburg’s Yannick Gerhardt conducts another cryptic interview

Just as he did last week, long-time “club man” Yannick Gerhardt simply couldn’t hide his anxiety when it came to Wolfsburg’s current trajectory. The fact that the team couldn’t pick up any points this week means that the club’s worst ever points total in 29 years of Bundesliga football stands. Despite a couple of relegation scares, Wolfsburg have never been relegated from the German top flight since first earning promotion ahead of the 1997/98 campaign. 

Gerhardt – with talismanic club captain Maximilian Arnold once again out – started in midfield and played the full 90 minutes for the second consecutive week. Gerhardt also maintains the responsibility of donning the armband in Arnold’s absence. It follows that Gerhardt also inherits Arnold’s frustration with respect to a club he holds most dear.

“I’m the one who has to find the words and I can’t explain it,” Gerhardt told DAZN. “Things are just not good. The club isn’t healthy. We can’t live up to our potential. The discrepancy between expectations and reality is too great. We’re fighting for survival. Even if what I’m saying is hard to believe, we won’t give up until the very end.“

GGFN | Peter Weis