Hannes Wolf’s Borussia Dortmund Departure Opens Door for Improvement

When news broke on Tuesday evening that Borussia Dortmund had released successful under-19 coach Hannes Wolf from his contract, many fans would have taken it with mixed feelings.

The 35-year-old received the opportunity of his lifetime with VfB Stuttgart offering him his first head-coaching job at the professional senior level.

The Swabians may only play in 2. Bundesliga after a catastrophic season saw them drop down from the German top flight for the first time since 1975, but they remain one of the country’s biggest clubs—think Newcastle United for an apt comparison.

Hannes Wolf is an excellent, forward-thinking appointment by Stuttgart. One of the most exciting, up-and-coming coaches in Germany.

— Jonathan Harding (@JonBloggs66) September 20, 2016

The Black and Yellows’ decision-makers did the right thing in allowing Wolf to pursue his goal, with sporting director Michael Zorc telling the club’s official website: “Hannes has done great work at BVB and helped to develop a lot of young talents. We owe him a big thank-you! We could not and would not deny him the career opportunity that has now come his way.”

On the other hand, however, letting go of a highly decorated coach during the season can’t be ideal, especially in the fragile environment that is youth football.

Wolf will always be tied with the rejuvenation of the club’s academy, with the Bochum-born coach winning three consecutive German championships with the under-17 and under-19 teams since 2014.

Following the club’s financial crisis in the middle of the noughties, Dortmund couldn’t allow themselves to properly fund the youth sector, which resulted in a veritable rough patch in terms of performances.

Apart from the 2008/09 season, in which a team led by players such as Mario Gotze, Tolgay Arslan (now at Besiktas) and Daniel Ginczek—who Wolf will coach at Stuttgart—won the Bundesliga’s western conference, results in the most important age group were downright appalling for a club of Dortmund’s size.

Under head coaches Jorg Behnert, Sascha Eickel and Marc-Patrick Meister, the Black and Yellows’ under-19 team only once managed a top-four finish until Wolf moved up in 2015 with most of his under-17 team that had won consecutive championships.

What followed was a dominant campaign as Dortmund finished five points ahead of second-placed Bayer Leverkusen in the western conference and claimed their first under-19 …

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