VfL Wolfsburg has parted company with head coach Niko Kovac with immediate effect. Managing director Marcel Schäfer informed the 52-year-old of the decision in a personal conversation on Saturday evening. Assistant coaches Robert Kovac and Aaron Briggs will also leave the Wolves.
“In our internal review of the defeat against Augsburg and the overall situation, we came to the decision to end our collaboration,” explained Schäfer. “We regret this development but regard it as necessary to give the team a new impulse, in order to stabilise the situation. We’d like to express our thanks to Niko Kovac, his brother Robert as well as Aaron Briggs, and wish them all the best in their personal and professional lives.”
Kovac joined VfL Wolfsburg ahead of the 2022/23 season. “From our point of view, the last one and a half years have been characterised by a very trusting, professional and amicable collaboration with the team, the VfL staff – particularly, of course, with Marcel Schäfer, Jörg Schmadtke and Sebastian Schindzielorz – and with the other decision makers in the supervisory board,” said Kovac. “For that we’re very grateful. Of course, I as head coach am particularly disappointed that we haven’t managed to turn things around, despite some promising signs. We wish the team, the whole club and its fans all the best for the rest of this season and beyond.”
