Florian Kohfeldt experienced a short and not very successful time at VfL Wolfsburg. Now the Swiss national player Renato Steffen criticizes the former VfL coach, who "never had such problems with a coach". Steffen gives several reasons - and thinks about his own future.
Swiss international Renato Steffen is thinking about leaving VfL Wolfsburg after four and a half years. At a media event for the Swiss national team on Friday, the 30-year-old winger spoke about major difficulties between him and former VfL coach Florian Kohfeldt.
"The last six months have definitely been one of the most difficult phases of my career. I've never had such problems with a coach before," said Steffen. "But I'm a guy who didn't fall flat on his face and addressed it. Depending on what you do, there are people in front of you with whom it fits or not. It just didn't fit with him."
The Swiss offensive player came to Wolfsburg from FC Basel in January 2018. His contract with the Bundesliga club is valid until 2023, and Kohfeldt will be replaced by former Bayern coach Niko Kovac this summer. For Steffen's positions, however, VfL recently signed Jakub Kaminsi from Poland (Lech Posen) and Patrick Wimmer from Austria (Arminia Bielefeld).
"I've always said: I feel very comfortable in Wolfsburg. But you have to say: the last six months have clouded the picture a bit," said Steffen. "I'm a player who likes change. The trend today is towards very young players, very talented players. That's why you have to discuss it with the club. If they say: 'We want something new', then that's good for me. Then I'll take a new path. Otherwise I'll have a very nice year there and I'll try to be as successful as possible. I'd really like to stay in the Bundesliga."
Kohfeldt only took over the coaching position in Wolfsburg in October 2021 from the hapless Mark van Bommel and signed a contract with the wolves until the summer of 2023. At the time, VfL was ninth in the league and was playing in the group stage of the Champions League. Then Wolfsburg ended the season in twelfth place - and Kohfeldt had to go.
