After 29 consecutive seasons in the Bundesliga, VfL Wolfsburg suffered their first-ever relegation from Germany’s top flight on Monday night, falling to a 2-1 extra-time playoff defeat to SC Paderborn.
With the worst-case scenario now a reality for the Volkswagen-owned club, the consequences will surely be significant.
Back in March, Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume already announced that, in light of VfL Wolfsburg’s poor season and the financially difficult situation of the car manufacturer, the company’s involvement in the project would be “put under review”.
A thorough analysis of both the past season and the upcoming campaign in the 2. Bundesliga is now set to follow, but decision-makers cannot afford to take too much time, with numerous questions to answer and a busy transfer window ahead.
The squad is expected to undergo a complete overhaul. Although most contracts remain valid in the 2. Bundesliga and relegation clauses will reduce many players’ salaries by 35 percent, many will still be too expensive to retain for second-tier football – even if they wanted to stay.
Mohamed Amoura, Konstantinos Koulierakis, Kamil Grabara, Patrick Wimmer, and Christian Eriksen are among those who will almost certainly leave, with the squad budget reportedly set to be reduced from €80 million to €55 million.
There is also uncertainty surrounding the coaching position and the sporting managing director role. Dieter Hecking took over as interim coach in March, and it’s currently unclear if he’ll continue.
“We will certainly get together over the next day or two to first analyse the ten weeks I was in charge. I need to let it all sink in first,” Hecking told Sky after Monday’s defeat to Paderborn.
It has been suggested that Hecking could step into the role as sporting managing director – a position that has been vacant since Peter Christiansen was sacked in March – but whether that could still happen after Monday’s relegation is uncertain.
In any case, VfL Wolfsburg are facing a busy and uncertain summer following Monday’s painful setback.
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