Christian Eriksen immediately integrated in Wolfsburg team leadership council | OneFootball

VfL Wolfsburg head coach Paul SImonis has announced that Christian Eriksen will be immediately integrated into his team’s leadership council. Simonis – like his fellow newly-appointed Bundesliga head coach Lukas Kwasniok of 1. FC Köln – deferred some changes to the squad’s leadership structure until the season was well underway. There were some interesting selections revealed at a Friday pre-match press conference.

Simonis confirmed that the leadership council constructed under previous head coach Ralph Hasenhüttl had been dissolved. Veteran Maximilian Arnold will nevertheless remain the team’s skipper. Swedish midfielder Mattias Svanberg will serve as the new vice captain, replacing the departed Sebastiaan Bornauw.

Starting keeper Kamil Grabara will retain his place on the council. Simonis still surprised somewhat by also including “very important” 37-year-old third string keeper Pavao Pervan and influential right back Kilian Fischer.

Nothing surprised quite like the selection of the newly acquired Eriksen, however. Such a move is highly unusual in German football, yet has also already happened this season. Hamburg’s Merlin Polzin also shocked by tapping new acquisition Yussuf Poulsen to work as his skipper.

Eriksen still hasn’t logged any minutes for his new Bundesliga club yet, though he did suit up for last Saturday’s match against Köln three days after signing his new contract. Simonis hinted that the 33-year-old might be ready for some action off the bench against Borussia Dortmund this weekend.

“We know that he [Eriksen] hasn’t been training at the same level in recent months,” Simonis noted on Friday. “The challenge for us is to make him a little stronger every day.”

GGFN | Peter Weis