Koen Casteels has racked up 274 appearances for VfL Wolfsburg since joining the club in 2015, when the Belgian goalkeeper was jostling for the No1 jersey with the Wolves’ title-winning custodian Diego Benaglio. Casteels managed to nail down a first-team spot during the following campaign – and he’s never looked back since. As he prepares to call time on his nine-year stint in Wolfsburg, the 31-year-old looks back on an eventful spell at the club.
Koen Casteels, let’s go back to 2015 – why did you decide to join VfL Wolfsburg?
Koen: “I was at Hoffenheim before I joined VfL. In April 2014, I was out for a long time with a broken leg and wasn’t fit again until October that year. I was 22 years old at the time and was obviously desperate to play. Wolfsburg eventually registered their interest that winter. In general, I was very interested because I was hoping the move would give me more playing time and VfL were having a very good season. Looking back, things have worked out just as we imagined them at the time – for me and for Wolfsburg.”
There were difficult periods too, with VfL facing a relegation play-off in 2016/17 and 2017/18. How do you look back on those times?
Koen: “It certainly wasn’t an easy time for the club. It was a lesson, though, because a lot of things went wrong. Both those seasons were very difficult. The good thing is that we learnt from them, and everyone realised we couldn’t go on like that. It’s never nice to have to sweat until the end and play in the relegation play-off. On a positive note, we survived on both occasions.”