Andries Jonker’s VfL Wolfsburg face relegation after losing 2-1 to Hamburg in the Bundesliga.

  • Wolfsburg won Bundesliga title in 2008/09
  • Have lost 17 league matches this season
  • Hamburg win pushed them to safety
  • First Wolfsburg play-off will take place on Thursday 25 May

Although Arsenal’s former academy manager, Jonker, partnered by Freddie Ljungberg, has been able to improve Wolfsburg’s season since he took over from Valérien Ismael in February (and been linked with Arsenal as potential Wenger replacements in the future), it might be too little too late.

After losing 2-1 to Hamburg on Saturday thanks to a late winner from Luca Waldschmidt, Wolfsburg now have to take part in the Bundesliga’s relegation play-off over two legs against the team that finishes third in Bundesliga 2.

At this point in time, this looks likely to be Eintracht Braunschweig.

It must be heartbreaking for fans, seeing as Wolfsburg finished in second just two seasons ago, 10 points behind Bayern Munich.

If they are relegated, it’ll be a huge shame for Jonker, who inherited a shambles of a team and, for a time, appeared to have steadied the ship.