Bundesliga
“Luxury Problem”: Wimmer More Than a VfB Transitional Solution?
Michael Wimmer remains coach of the VfB. photo
© Marijan Murat / dpa
There is no end to VfB Stuttgart’s search for a manager. Sporting director Sven Mislintat talks about “luxury problem” after the successes of interim manager Wimmer.
As he walked through the catacombs of the arena, Sven Mislintat momentarily tripped when he got caught in the straps of his backpack.
The sporting director’s mistake was VfB Stuttgart’s only mistake in the second round of the DFB Cup, which once again interim manager Michael Wimmer made a perfect offer. Two games, two wins, 10: 1 goal: does the Bundesliga football team still need an outside manager?
“He’s doing a great job”
“He’s doing a great job and you have to recognize the performance principle,” Mislintat said of Wimmer after a convincing 6-0 win over Arminia Bielefeld. In the euphoria of reaching the round of 16, the ds expressed confidence in the former assistant of the free agent Pellegrino Matarazzo for Saturday’s match (15:30 / Sky) at Borussia Dortmund. And maybe even beyond?
Mislintat refused to give a concrete answer to this question. “Everything has been said, we have a luxury problem,” said the team planner, who does not want to commit to a new manager yet. Mislintat declined to comment that Ajax Amsterdam’s Jess Thorup and Alfred Schreuder were reportedly swapped with VfB. “We said we have two candidates and that’s exactly right. There’s nothing more to say,” said the 49-year-old. With Wimmer there would even be three candidates.
Wimmer “deserved 100 percent of the game. I’d love to see him coach there,” said Mislintat. If the VfB were to become a stumbling block for the ambitious Dortmunders, Wimmer would present another candidacy letter to his bosses.
Wimmer creates a mood swing
Lower Bavaria clearly caused a change of mood, which is also reflected in the results. After a long wait, VfB finally managed to close a match without conceding a goal against Bielefeld. The interim manager continues to collect more points in the team. Borna Sosa, who played very well against Bielefeld, praised him after his 4-1 win against VfL Bochum. This time Pascal Stenzel underlined the value of Wimmer: “he has done well in the last week and a half and has managed to bring everyone on board. Everyone has confidence again”.
This was the problem in the first nine Bundesliga games without a win under Matarazzo. Mislintat also knows that Borussia Dortmund are facing a tougher test. “It helps us to have won two games,” he said. But nothing more.
“With all due respect to Bielefeld and with all due respect to Bochum”, Mislintat summed up the two Bundesliga-14 successes. “Like VfB Stuttgart, these are exactly the games we have to win. Of course you have to score ten goals in two games first.”
Stenzel (20 ‘), Wataru Endo (24’) and Luca Pfeiffer (29 ‘) made the decision against Bielefeld, last of the second division, in nine minutes. Silas Katompa Mvumpa follows before half-time (39 ‘). As the desolate defending guests failed to raise their arms, Pfeiffer (52 ‘) and substitute Serhou Guirassy (67’) were able to complete the half-dozen after half-time.
