Hasenhüttl calls for more support from Wolfsburg fans: “Still as a graveyard.”

While quick to point out that his team had performed far better than the first time he faced Bayern as the trainer of VfL Wolfsburg, WOB trainer Ralph Hasenhüttl found himself disappointed with some of the aspects of his first experience facing Bayern on home turf. While the 28,917 in attendance at the Volkswagen Arena on Sunday afternoon die technically constitute a sell-out, the 57-year-old Austrian gaffer sometimes felt as if the crowd wasn’t behind his team. Squad captain Maximilian Arnold also commented on the situation

The German Wolves were able to fight back against Bayern, even grabbing two goals to take the lead for a ten-minute-span in the second half. Speaking at his post-match presser, Hasenhüttl made it clear that – after four years spent coaching Southampton on the Isle – the atmosphere wasn’t necessarily befitting of a chance to nab a win against the mighty German giants. After noting that his team “played as well as they could against Bayern”, Hasenhüttl went on to discuss the crowd. 

“We want to put everything into it,” the trainer remarked, “We want to collect and deliver. When it gets difficult and we earn a free-kick, corner, or throw, in the Premiership the entire stadium erupts. I feel like we need to receive more support in such situations. The way the lads fought today, I expect that everybody stands up when we get a chance to do something.” 

“I hope we can get that in the future,” he continued, “We played a great game against a very strong team. It was a bit too quiet for me. There was a little bit of atmosphere, but after [Vaclav Cerny’s] second goal, it was still as a graveyard. That can’t be right. Help the lads out. The lads believe in themselves. We need to get the fans to believe in us too.” 

“It’s up to us to ignite the spark,” Arnold added in his post-match interview, “Towards the end the fans had a feeling that we gave it our all. Pulling together, we can get things going in the right direction. We can also win a lot of games.”