Many personnel questions are currently being asked about VfL Wolfsburg. The focus: Will Jörg Schmadtke leave the club in the summer or will the managing director extend it? How safe is coach Florian Kohfeldt in the saddle? Chairman of the Supervisory Board Frank Witter presented himself on Thursday.
He took his time and ended up talking for more than an hour about the situation at VfL Wolfsburg. Frank Witter, former CFO at Volkswagen and still head of the VfL supervisory board, is a man of the trade as a former second division player for OSV Hannover. And yet he emphasizes: “I don’t have half the knowledge about football that Jörg Schmadtke has.” The future of the managing director is the focus of the conversation. Does the 57-year-old, who took over VfL in 2018 as a two-time relegation participant and led to the Champions League together with Marcel Schäfer, continue and extend his contract, which expires in the summer? This is what Witter says about…
… the Schmadtke future: There is neither a clear yes nor a no from the supervisory board to the managerial future, which actually does not require any major negotiations. Will he hang on for another year and extend to VfL again, or will they part ways in the summer? “We’ll see about that,” says Witter, “we’ll talk about it this winter.” Much sounds as if the boss were playing for time, as if the sporting crisis, which was not to be expected in the form, had a not inconsiderable influence on both the timing and the decision-making process. Which, according to the trend, currently speaks against Schmadtke’s continued employment, who at the same time has to think about it. “The crisis has had a massive impact on the question of priorities and timing,” confirms Witter, who very often uses the word “appreciation” in connection with the manager, referring to the sporting successes of the past three and a half years that have been worked out together with sports director Marcel Schäfer including an improved cost structure and emphasizes that the thread of discussion has by no means been broken.
Witter also emphasizes: “You can’t ignore the successes, but we still make decisions for the future.” The 63-year-old is currently “not able to give a final answer to the question. Our priority is now clearly on the sporty side, which occupies us all day and night.” The next few weeks with the previous year’s fourth who crashed in the relegation battle apparently play a not insignificant role in Schmadtke’s future question. “We have to look at how the difficult situation is developing,” explains Witter, who also knows: “Jörg Schmadtke is also thinking about his life and future plans. The situation does not leave him untouched either, because not all ideas have risen.”
A decision can be expected in February, after the end of the transfer period. “We will certainly put a button on it in the next few weeks,” says Witter, “in one direction or the other.” The head of the supervisory board emphasizes several times: “It’s about the club. I’ve rarely seen someone like Jörg Schmadtke, who cares so much about the weal and woe of this club. He and his family are 110 percent here.”
“It’s normal that not everyone has the same opinion”
… the board of directors: In conversations with the boss, the impression emerges that Witter would definitely take a pro-stance towards Schmadtke, with which he has to convince more doubting colleagues in the committee. Decisive for Schmadtke’s future – regardless of his own decision – will be how the executive committee (Witter, Hans Dieter Pötsch, Bernd Osterloh) of the ten-member supervisory board decides. It sounds through that there is currently no consensus there, but that would be necessary for the continued employment of the managing director. “I believe,” said Witter, “such a decision should be supported by everyone in the executive committee who has responsibility there. Broad support is the basic prerequisite for working sensibly and in a spirit of trust.” Apparently there needs to be some discussion in the presidium about the pros and cons of continuing the Schmadtke era at VfL. “It’s normal that not everyone has the same opinion. It’s important that we have a diverse body that we discuss controversially. That’s necessary for healthy cooperation.”
… sports director Schäfer: The former VfL professional extended his contract last summer until 2025. The logical plan would be for him to one day follow in Schmadtke’s footsteps. Maybe next season? “The basic idea is quite plausible, but not the topic at the moment,” explains Witter, who also emphasizes the great appreciation for Schäfer and his superiors. “The fact that a sports director can develop in this way speaks for the quality of his boss to allow it. To give him the space and open his notebook.” Schäfer has been learning from Schmadtke for three and a half years, emancipates himself, and they are currently going through their first major crisis together. “It’s remarkable how this tandem works.” One day Schäfer should finally become VfL boss, although he also bears some responsibility for the current sporting situation. But Witter explains: “He has the competence and a development in which one can foresee that he can grow into a large and responsible role in the sporting management.”
For Witter it’s all about staying up in the league
… the crisis: It all started with Schmadtke and Schäfer’s coaching decision. The choice to succeed Oliver Glasner fell on Mark van Bommel – a big misunderstanding. “Unfortunately, it didn’t work out,” Witter admits without wanting to dump everything on the Dutchman. “Not everything worked, there are various reasons for that.” The supervisory board also sees responsibility for the team. “Whether every player realized in time that he had to take one step further this season with the challenge of the Champions League is a legitimate question.” For Witter, the only thing that matters in the remaining 15 games of the season (plus a possible renewed relegation) is staying up in the league. “I can’t think of any other perspective at the moment. We should get into secure midfield as soon as possible.”
Kohfeldt “deeply impressed” Witter
… trainer Florian Kohfeldt: Witter shoots a detail directly into the head of the Van Bommel successor, who was committed at the end of October. VfL had left the 39-year-old to decide when he would start. Kohfeldt chose the immediate and thus the difficult away game in Leverkusen. “Everyone knows how important a start is for a coach,” says Witter, “he took all the risks. That impressed me deeply.” Kohfeldt and his team won 2-0 at Bayer, followed by two more victories in the Champions League (2-1 against Salzburg) and the Bundesliga (1-0 against Augsburg). Since then, however, there has not been a single success. At the same time, doubts grew that VfL would get the curve with the ex-Werder coach.
Witter sees Kohfeldt as a man with “incredible energy, powerful, optimistic”. But is that enough if the points are missing? There is no job guarantee for the trainer from the supervisory board either. “We all know that we are in results sport. We have to reassess the situation regularly. Does the coach reach the team? Does he still believe in it himself, does he convey this belief? I am deeply convinced that Florian Kohfeldt will initiate the necessary development steps, that he’ll take us out of there. But is that a statement that will still be valid in three months’ time if we haven’t won a game by then? Of course not.” Witter is clearly positioned towards Kohfeldt, and yet it seems conceivable that a clear defeat and a disappointing performance on Sunday (3.30 p.m., LIVE! at kicker) in Leipzig could force VfL to act.
… the transfer period: VfL tinkered with US attacker Ricardo Pepi’s deal and was reportedly willing to invest 15 million euros in the 19-year-old. As the price continued to rise, the Lower Saxony withdrew from poker, Pepi moved to Augsburg for 16 million. Money, it seems, would be there to set a personal impulse in the team. “We have great confidence in our squad, one or two injured players (Xaver Schlager, Lukas Nmecha; editor’s note) will be back in the foreseeable future,” says Witter, who does not rule out newcomers, but: “We will not do anything what doesn’t get the team any further or what would be economically disproportionate. We’ve been following this line since the Schmadtke and Schäfer era and don’t intend to leave it.” See Pepi. “We clearly have our limits.”
