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VfL Wolfsburg part ways with Andries Jonker and his coaching staff

VfL Wolfsburg

VfL Wolfsburg have decided to part ways with their head coach Andries Jonker, assistant coaches Freddie Ljungberg and Uwe Speidel and match-analyst Jan van Loon. The Bundesliga club announced their decision on Monday morning after a meeting between club managers Wolfgang Hotze and Dr. Tim Schumacher together with Director of Sport Olaf Rebbe upon agreement with the Supervisory Board.

“Decisive for us in taking this step at this point in time was not just the impression made upon us during the game against Stuttgart, but rather based upon the perception of stagnated development amongst the team, which was to a great extent newly formed during the summer. We expressly wish to thank Andries Jonker and his coaching staff, for rescuing VfL’s position in the top-flight at the last minute at the end of last season,” stated Wolfgang Hotze in an official statement released on the club website.

Manager Dr. Tim Schumacher explained: “The decision to make a change of head-coach at this early stage of the season wasn’t easy for any of us. However, during our internal consultations, we ultimately came to the conclusion that we wish to approach the task with a newly formed coaching-team.”

The new head coach is expected to take charge on Monday afternoon. “We have two difficult games ahead of us this week, but we didn’t want to implement a caretaker solution, rather install a new head-coach with immediate effect,” noted Olaf Rebbe, who is currently in discussions with the new coach, who is expected to be announced within the next few hours.