VfL Wolfsburg kicked off the 20th matchday of the Bundesliga in Cologne without top scorer Mohammed Amoura – for disciplinary reasons, as head coach Daniel Bauer explained.
After a weak performance last weekend, Daniel Bauer demanded a different attitude from his team on Friday evening.
The 1-3 defeat in Mainz was critically analyzed, and after a “good week of training,” as Bauer emphasized, Wolfsburg was now expected to show “a reaction” in the away game in Cologne. However, the Wolfsburg coach decided not to include Mohammed Amoura in this mission – and the Wolves ended up losing 0-1.
Wolfsburg’s top scorer this season with seven goals – and also the team’s top scorer with three assists – was missing from the squad. The club announced just over an hour before kick-off that this was for “disciplinary reasons.”
The club did not initially reveal any further details, with Bauer simply telling Sky about Amoura’s omission: “The team, the ‘we’, comes before everything else. Mohammed did not adhere to that 100% this week. We have to be consistent, which is why he is not playing today.”
The Wolves coach did not reveal any further background information. “These are internal matters, which we discussed internally with Mohammed,” Bauer continued. “However, the disciplinary action only applies to the 20th match day. On Monday, he will be back in training at full throttle, offering his services and fighting for his place.”
17 goals in 52 games for Wolfsburg
Amoura was already Wolfsburg’s top scorer (10 goals, 12 assists) last season after his transfer from Union Saint-Gilloise to the Bundesliga in the summer of 2024. In the current season, the 25-year-old has been in the starting lineup in 13 of his 17 Bundesliga appearances, most recently scoring Wolfsburg’s only goal in Mainz.
At the end of December and beginning of January, the Algerian missed two VfL games due to his participation in the Africa Cup of Nations. Amoura’s national team was eliminated in the quarterfinals against Nigeria (0-2). The striker did not score any goals himself, but the 43-time international did set up one goal.
