After winning his first four league matches as Wolfsburg's manager, the former Netherlands midfielder was briefly in the lead but he now leaves the team with an eight-game winless streak.

Jorg Schmadtke, Wolfsburg's chief executive, stated that van Bommel wasn't the right coach to "get out of this difficult sporting environment and bring about a turnaround as quickly as possible."

Van Bommel stated that the firing was a shock.

He said that he was surprised and disappointed at the decision. "I'm convinced that we would have been able to work together to get back to the path of success." The club released comments from him. "I hope the team can turn things around quickly."

Wolfsburg is eighth place in the Bundesliga. They were eliminated in round one of the German Cup. After Wednesday's 3-1 defeat to Salzburg, Wolfsburg is now last in Champions League Group G.

Van Bommel was appointed in the off-season following Oliver Glasner's departure from Wolfsburg to join Eintracht Frankfurt. After a 17-month stint in the Netherlands with PSV Eindhoven, Van Bommel was appointed as his second head coach.