WOLFSBURG: Wolfsburg hired Paul Simonis as its new coach on Thursday after he won the Netherlands' top cup competition with his previous club Go Ahead Eagles.

The 40-year-old Simonis joins on a two-year contract with a task to “realign VfL Wolfsburg with fresh impetus,” managing director for sport Peter Christiansen said.

Simonis' Dutch Cup win with Go Ahead Eagles in April was a surprise for a club which hadn't won a major trophy in 92 years, and came in his first career head coach role. The team's league finish of seventh was also its best in decades.

He replaced Ralph Hasenhüttl after the former Southampton and Leipzig coach was fired with two games remaining of the Bundesliga. Wolfsburg finished 11th under stand-in Daniel Bauer.

Simonis will be Wolfsburg's sixth permanent coach since 2021, the last year when it qualified for the men's Champions League.