Kovac took Marmoush off after 19 minutes: "I wasn't satisfied with his defensive performance"
Omar Marmoush was taken off just 19 minutes after coming on in Wolfsburg's 5-1 win over Bochum. Contrary to initial reports, the substitution was purely sporting, Wolfsburg coach Niko Kovac emphasized after the match.
With Wolfsburg leading Bochum 3-0 at half-time in Saturday's 5-1 Bundesliga win, Niko Kovac decided to take Patrick Wimmer off at half-time as a precaution and replace him with Omar Marmoush.
However, the Egypt international was taken off again just 19 minutes later, at which point Wolfsburg were 4-0 up, and not because he had picked up an injury.
"I didn't like what I saw in the first 10 minutes. We needed to close down the middle better and defend better going forward. I told Omar that before he came on and during the game," Kovac said at his post-match press conference.
"I just wasn't happy with his defensive performance, so I took him off," the Wolfsburg coach continued.
The 24-year-old forward will leave Wolfsburg at the end of the season after turning down a new contract. He is reportedly set to join Eintracht Frankfurt.