TSV 1860 Munich is rarely to be envied, not even these days. At the turn of the year, the Lions are only in 14th place in the third division, and things are happening in England that are bringing back the extremely painful memories of relegation to the fourth division seven and a half years ago for all sixties. Back in 1860, they lost the second division relegation game against Jahn Regensburg and then didn’t even get a license for league three for financial reasons. The coach in charge at the time, Vítor Pereira, then, like the club in 1860, no longer played a role in high-level professional football. But two weeks ago he emerged like a phoenix from the ashes – as the new coach of Premier League relegation candidate Wolverhampton Wanderers. Pereira remained unforgotten in Munich because he had loudly announced at the beginning that he would lead the Lions to promotion to the Bundesliga (“go to the top”) – instead things went steeply downhill. At Wolves under Pereira, things have been the other way around so far: things are slowly going up from the bottom.
Since taking office, the Portuguese has managed to free the team, which was actually far too good for the lower ranks, out of the relegation zone. The Wolves won the first two matches under Pereira against rivals Leicester and against Manchester United, and at the end of the year there was a draw at Tottenham Hotspur. This creates a connection to the lower midfield, with newly promoted Ipswich, Leicester and Southampton now occupying the three relegation places.
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Wolverhampton had only taken nine points from 16 league games before Pereira’s arrival. After the defeat against Ipswich there was a scandal: Brazilian striker Matheus Cunha, once active for RB Leipzig and Hertha BSC, elbowed a member of the security service in the back of the head and snatched his glasses during the commotion after the final whistle. England’s association surprisingly banned Wolves’ top scorer (ten goals) for just two games and was also fined £80,000.
With stints in Brazil and China, Pereira acquired Wolverhampton expertise, so to speak
However, due to the miserable overall situation, the suburban club from Birmingham fired English coach Gary O’Neil. In order to buy out Pereira’s successor from his contract with Al-Shabab in Saudi Arabia, a transfer fee of one million euros was due. After his interlude at 1860 Munich (January to May 2017), the now 56-year-old spent several seasons with clubs in Brazil and China; He stayed at Shanghai Port FC for three years, longer than at any other club. With his career stages, Pereira now fits Wolverhampton’s profile perfectly in some respects. On the one hand, there are four Brazilians and five Portuguese in the squad. On the other hand, the club has been part of the portfolio of Chinese billionaire Guo Guangchang since 2016, who holds the majority of the shares in the conglomerate Fosun International (not state-owned). The Wolverhampton club is a remnant of the unsuccessful Chinese football offensive that President Xi Jinping announced in 2015.
The Wolves have been plagued by financial problems for years. There was always speculation about a sale, but the Chinese club chairman Jeff Shi always put all rumors into perspective and assured continued interest in the club. In recent transfer periods, Wolverhampton had to make significant savings in order not to violate the league’s financial regulations. The sale of the best players – including Matheus Nunes to Manchester City and Pedro Neto to Chelsea FC – has brought Wolverhampton a total of almost 300 million euros in income since 2023. Initially, a lot of money was invested after the promotion in 2018.
The turnaround in the transfer market had a direct impact on the sporting performance. After two respectable seventh places at the start, the Wolves have barely gotten out of the bottom half of the table for years. As in the previous season, there is once again a lack of stability, alongside Leicester they currently have the worst defense in the Premier League, and the defense should be strengthened in the winter. The mastermind Jorge Mendes, who once made a name for himself as an advisor to Cristiano Ronaldo, is partly responsible for the club’s numerous transfers. Mendes is considered a confidant of club boss Shi, and his agency Gestifute has a box in the Molineux home stadium. There are currently six Mendes players under contract in Wolverhampton – and the new coach Pereira is also one of his clients.
So far, Wolverhampton has always somehow managed to stay afloat. Vítor Pereira is convinced that he will avoid relegation again due to the quality of the squad. If he succeeds, it could also give the Munich Lions courage to try to return to the big stage themselves at some point.
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