Leaderless Wolf Pack
VfL Wolfsburg have reacted to the team's disastrous start to the current Bundesliga campaign by parting ways with head coach Felix Magath.
Toothless Wolves
Despite investing heavily in the improvement of the first-team squad in the summer transfer window, Wolfsburg have amassed just five points from eight games so far this season and lie rooted to the bottom of the Bundesliga table.
Wolfsburg were expected to challenge for the European places this term after bringing in forwards Bas Dost and Ivica Olic, defender Naldo, as well as welcoming back Brazilian midfielder Diego from a loan spell at Atletico Madrid. The campaign began well enough with an away win at VfB Stuttgart on Matchday 1, with Dost netting a debut goal, but results since then have been anything but encouraging.
A catastrophic 4-0 home defeat to local rivals Hannover 96 on Matchday 4 was perhaps the clearest evidence of the club's season progress adopting a steep downward trajectory. Magath's fate was then sealed after last Saturday's woefully timid 2-0 loss at home to SC Freiburg, which left the team rock-bottom having scored just twice in over 720 minutes of league football.
Unsuccessful second stint
A former German international, Magath was in the midst of his second spell in charge of Wolfsburg after coaching the Lower Saxon outfit between 2007 and 2009. He sensationally led the club to its first ever Bundesliga title that summer, before departing to join FC Schalke 04.
"We would like to expressly make clear our gratitude to Felix Magath," Wolfsburg chairman of the board Francisco Garcia-Sanz said. "He showed enormous commitment to VfL Wolfsburg in his two spells here and achieved great things for the club, the city of Wolfsburg and for sport in the local community. Our focus is now on the upcoming games, where our priority is to climb the table as quickly as possble."
Assistant coach Lorenz-Günther Köstner has taken over first team managerial duties in the meantime.
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