After Max Kruse was booted out of VfL Wolfsburg, he showed up for training on Tuesday. And: he was even allowed to participate – as goalkeeper coach.

Ever since VfL Wolfsburg coach Niko Kovac and the sporting management told Max Kruse the day before the 1-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt that he would not play any more games for the club with immediate effect, employers Wolfsburg and player Kruse have been in a kind of limbo.

Because, of course, it’s all about money, about a severance package. The 34-year-old striker still has a contract in Wolfsburg until 30 June 2023, and the transfer period is over. So Kruse doesn’t want to be accused of anything either and appears at training like a good employee.

That he is now only a marginal figure there was quickly made clear by Kovac on Tuesday. Kruse was allowed to do the warm-up exercises and the final programme with everyone else. But not the game forms and tactical content. During this time, he was the only outfield player to help with the goalkeeper training – and he did so in front of numerous media representatives who had come mainly for him. Kruse was allowed to warm up the substitute goalkeepers for minutes.

The former Wolfsburg champion coach Felix Magath (69) therefore considers Kruse’s disqualification to be the right thing to do. “A player can be as good as he wants: if he doesn’t want to fit in, then he can’t play for the club. I think Niko Kovac will have made every player the offer to work with him and be successful with him. If there are then players in the squad who have their own ideas and think they are so good that they only have to do what they think is right, the coach has a problem.” Kovac had “done everything right” and VfL had to “strengthen the coach in such a case”. wozi with dpa