Mission promotion: Wolfsburg chased former HSV coach! | OneFootball

VfL Wolfsburg were surprisingly relegated from the Bundesliga. In the new beginning, several former HSV coaches could have played a key role.

Dieter Hecking oversaw the final stretch from the sidelines and at least guided the Wolves, who had been stumbling when he took charge, into the relegation play-off, where they lost to SC Paderborn after two poor performances (0:0/1:2 a.e.t.). The 61-year-old – who failed to win promotion with HSV in the 2019/20 Covid season – is currently considered the favorite for the sporting director role and would therefore also be responsible for choosing the coach.

According to Abendblatt information, Tim Walter was considered a leading candidate. He was even said to have already received a concrete offer. A denial came from circles in Wolfsburg. Walter knows the 2. Bundesliga extremely well, having already managed 152 matches there. Only in recent months did he rehabilitate his reputation impressively by keeping Holstein Kiel from dropping into the 3. Liga.

Photo: Getty Images

HSV: Walter came close to promotion twice

Walter picked up 17 points from 12 matches, with a run of four straight wins paving the way to securing survival early. Despite the success, the club and coach needed several weeks to agree on continuing their cooperation. Only on Friday evening did Sky reporter Florian Plettenberg report that the signing of the new contract should take place soon.

Walter, who is known for his dominance-based possession style, was mainly responsible for the drawn-out negotiations, as he insists on coaching a team capable of competing for promotion. The conditions would have been far more favorable in the Autostadt. VfL have by far the highest wage bill in the 2. Bundesliga at over €30 million. For comparison, Holstein Kiel do not even have half that amount at their disposal.

Nur die Raute – by HSV fans for HSV fans

In the coming days, it will become clear who will steer the fortunes of the number one promotion favorites. Alongside Walter, Alexander Blessin, who was relegated with FC St. Pauli and is still considering his future, as well as Tobias Strobl (SC Verl) – whose approach is similarly attack-minded to that of the Bruchsal native – have also been linked with VfL Wolfsburg.

Photo: IMAGO

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.