Wolfsburg relegation the result of mistakes at many levels

Wolfsburg face a difficult future as the first ever Bundesliga relegation of their men's football team comes at a time when club owners Volkswagen are also in upheaval.

The Volkswagen Group plans radical changes amid dropping sales and profits across their brands VW, Audi and Porsche, with more than 30,000 jobs to be cut in Germany.

The Wolfsburg club is frowned upon by traditionalists because along with Hoffenheim, RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen they are exempt from the 50+1 rule in German football under which the club must have a majority of 50% of the shares plus one.

The Süddeutsche Zeitung said on Tuesday that Wolfsburg "were never unconditionally popular among German football fans" and as a result "there is a lot of populist potential in the fact that the football millionaires have been relegated whilst industrial action is taking place in the factory halls."

Flawed system

Monday's 2-1 defeat at Paderborn in the promotion/relegation play-off was the culmination of a season marred by mistakes at many levels of the club.

They range from Volkswagen accused of not properly looking after its football activities - which it is bankrolling with a reported €80 million ($93 million) per year for all teams - to a completely wrong squad composition last summer over which managing director for sport Peter Christiansen ultimately had to go in March.

Wolfsburg went through three coaches, starting with Paul Simonis and ending with a return of Dieter Hecking after a short-lived Daniel Bauer intermezzo.

They avoided the direct drop on the final matchday but were then not able to survive in the play-off for a third time after 2017 and 2018.

Kicker sports magazine said relegation was "the price paid" for all the mistakes as Sky TV spoke of a "flawed system" at the club.

Supervisory board member Diego Benaglio said: “The disappointment is immense. Feeling the finality of it all is painful.

"We’ve been relegated because of the results of all our matches this season. If we hadn’t made any mistakes, we wouldn’t have ended up in this situation. In the end, we have to accept this bitter reality.”

Glory followed by decline

Benaglio was Wolfsburg goalkeeper in the club's proudest moment in their 29-year Bundesliga era when they won a surprise title in 2009 under coach Felix Magath.

Victories including a dazzling 5-1 over Bayern Munich with the help of a classy backheeler from Grafite who together with a young Edin Dzeko formed a formidable 54-goal strike force.

Wolfsburg were runners-up once more in 2015 and fourth in 2021 but far from their often lofty ambitions in most other years, which culminated on Monday.

"A combination of poor decisions, a disadvantageous location and overconfidence has led to the squad getting progressively worse over the years, with the various coaches appearing increasingly disillusioned and, at times, desperate," Sky said.

What next?

"Relegation always hurts," said Hecking, whose future is one of the issues the club now has to deal with in what is expected to be a major overhaul.

The Bild paper said that Volkswagen payments will drop to €55 million, again covering all teams including the women who have won multiple Bundesliga and Champions League titles over the years.

Many players led by Danish veteran star Christian Eriksen, Lovro Majer and the talented Patrick Wimmer are expcted to leave even though most have valid contracts. Bild said those staying will have a 35% pay cut.

The state of the squad also showed on Monday when injured Wimmer was the only player to face the media.