Max Kruse has no future at VfL Wolfsburg. Coach Niko Kovac demotes his star player. He reports the day after, accepts the decision, but vehemently defends himself against an accusation. He doesn't want to know that his Bundesliga career is now over.
Max Kruse, who fell out of favor with VfL Wolfsburg, has rejected the accusation that he did not identify with the club and has announced that he will continue his career in the Bundesliga. In a video published on his Instagram account, the 34-year-old said he respected coach Niko Kovac's opinion. "But I think everyone who knows me knows that not only at VfL Wolfsburg, but in the last ten or twelve years that I've been playing professional football, when I've been on the pitch, I've always given everything for the Club I played for," said the attacking player. It will stay that way as long as he is allowed to train and play football.
Kruse apparently had no idea of his tough eviction. "It came as a surprise not only to me but also to a lot of you, especially after the last two games I've done from the start," he told fans.
Kovac announced on Saturday that Kruse would no longer be used under him at VfL Wolfsburg and justified this by saying that the ex-national player does not identify with the club. "We demand 100% identification and concentration from every player with a focus on VfL. We didn't have that feeling with Max. That's why he wasn't there and won't be there in the future," said Kovac after the 1-0 win Eintracht Frankfurt on the Sky TV channel. When asked by the reporter whether this was the end of a great Bundesliga career, Kovac answered succinctly: "Yes."
Kruse contradicted this at the end of his video clip. "I think I'll decide for myself when my time in the Bundesliga is over. Nobody else decides that for me," he said. As proof of his identification with VfL Wolfsburg, he cited his commitment to the club after the move from 1. FC Union Berlin in the second half of last season. "I came to Wolfsburg in January to help the team and I think I did that last second half of the season," he explained.
His immediate options are now limited: at least in the top European leagues, the transfer window has been closed since September 1st.
