Bundesliga side, Wolfsburg, who finished a disappointing eigth this season after winning the league in 2009 have today appointed former England, Middlesbrough and FC Twente manager Steve McLaren.
McLaren’s move comes after he took FC Twente to their first Dutch league championship in 45 years, and will make him, surprisingly, the first ever Englishman to manage a German club.
Steve McLaren enjoyed a remarkable start to his managerial career in 2001, when he built a solid squad of players at Middlesbrough, backed by Chairman Steve Gibson. He took the club to the top half of the Premier League, and reached a UEFA Cup Final before accepting the England job.
As manager of England, McLaren was sacked for failing to take the team to the Euro 2008 tournament, before returning to club football as manager of FC Twente where he proved once again how effective he can be at this level of football.
McLaren will be joined in Germany by his wife and children, whom he claims to have promised no more than two years apart while he rebuilt his career in Holland.
Wolsburg, as a side with several recent successes, including playing Champions League football, will be his most demanding club appointment to date: McLaren’s first season target must surely be European Qualification in 2010/11.