Bundesliga
Following the appointment of Paul Simonis as Wolfsburg's new head coach, bundesliga.com takes a closer look at the Dutchman who made waves in his homeland...
Stats correct as of 12 June 2025
Paul Simonis
Age: 40 (born 14 February 1985)
Club: Wolfsburg
Role: Head coach
Country: Netherlands
Key stats
Simonis’s coaching journey started back in 2005, with Sparta Rotterdam’s youth sides, when he was 21. He remained at the club for 15 years, during which time he moved on to coach their U17 and U19 sides, before eventually departing to become assistant to former Schalke boss Kees van Wonderen at Go Ahead Eagles in the Dutch second tier. Together, the pair led the Eagles to promotion to the Eredivisie and kept them there for the following two seasons, before both heading for Heerenveen.
After two seasons at Heerenveen, Simonsis took his first head coach's job, returning to Go Ahead Eagles ahead of the 2024/25 campaign. As well as finishing seventh in the Eredivisie - their highest finish since 1970/71 - they won the club’s first ever Dutch Cup, beating eventual league champions PSV Eindhoven in the semi-finals and AZ Alkmaar on penalties in the final. His reward was a two-year contract with Wolfsburg.
Coaches a bit like: Julian Nagelsmann
A young coach who also trusts in younger players, Simonis’s Dutch Cup-winning squad contained just five players aged 27 or older. Similar to German counterpart Julian Nagelsmann, the new Wolfsburg tactician has no issue fielding a young line-up, or experimenting with formations. In his time in the Netherlands, he used 4-4-2, 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 setups.
Did you know?
The AZ Alkmaar side that Simonis’s Go Ahead Eagles beat in the 2024/25 Dutch Cup final included Ruben Van Bommel, the son of former Bayern Munich midfielder and ex-Wolfsburg boss Mark.
What they’re saying
"Paul works with great detail in all areas. He shares the same ideas and concepts, both in terms of content and structure, about how we want to present ourselves on the pitch in the future and how we want to reorient Wolfsburg with fresh impetus." - Wolfsburg sporting director Peter Christiansen
"He has a great eye for his environment, both on a human level and for what needs to be done. He is loyal and dutiful, feels the responsibility and knows what is asked of him. In short, a reliable and energetic guy." - former Go Ahead Eagles coach Kees van Wonderen