VfL Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg (AP) – As a former Champions League winner, runner-up world champion and “aggressive leader”, it is a challenge to always stay calm on the sidelines.
“Sometimes you want to go back in yourself. But that no longer works, ”said Mark van Bommel to ZDF after his first victory as a Bundesliga coach. His VfL Wolfsburg won 1-0 (1-0) against VfL Bochum and the former captain of FC Bayern Munich was in a good mood. «We played very good football for an hour. It was nice to see. I sat very quietly on my armchair. “
No question about it, van Bommel had a difficult start in Wolfsburg. The 44-year-old cannot enjoy the successful start of the new Bundesliga season for long either because the DFB Cup is threatened with a subsequent end on Monday. Then the sports court of the German Football Association negotiates the error made by Münster, which the referee or an assistant coach could have prevented, but which van Bommel as head coach ultimately carried out and is therefore responsible for.
Weghorst meets
VfL immediately stood in front of their new coach and dealt with the illegal substitution of six instead of the permitted five players very self-deprecatingly (“Come to our arena and monitor the changes”). The tense situation only eased a little after the win against Bochum – again – a decisive goal by Wout Weghorst in the 22nd minute. “I’m not relieved, but very happy,” said van Bommel.
The Dutchman was asked whether he felt any particular pressure after his faux pas in the cup. And when he answered, the man who his former coach Ottmar Hitzfeld used to call his “aggressive leader” at FC Bayern came through again: “You always have pressure. And if nobody puts pressure on you, I’ll do it myself, ”said van Bommel. “To have to be successful under pressure is the best thing there is. That’s why I also believe that a lot of people who work in football want to stay in football forever. “
Great height of fall
His pressure in Wolfsburg comes from the fact that the height of fall is so great. His predecessor Oliver Glasner led VfL into the Champions League and left him a team in which every player knew exactly how to behave and when on the pitch after two years. A compact defense, a fast and straight counter game: The “Wolves” were one of the most feared and best-organized opponents in the league last season.
Maintaining these strengths and expanding Van Bommel’s short passing game: That is the challenge with which the team is still visibly alienated. On the first day of the match she managed to do that very well for an hour after the early red card for Bochum’s Robert Tesche (4th) and a missed hand penalty by Weghorst (5th) before the confusion spread on the field. «Some wanted to defend the 1-0 lead, others want to shoot the 2-0. We had doubts, that is completely normal and understandable, ”said van Bommel. There is still a long way to go before everyone does the same thing again. You still need time for that, said Maximilian Arnold.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210815-99-848693 / 2
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