The questionable personnel selections of Wolfsburg head coach Paul Simonis have left two perfectly fit players without any Bundesliga minutes this season. Coveted deadline day signing Saël Kumbedi has yet to make an appearance for Germany’s green company team this season. Highly-rated German-Hungarian midfielder Bence Dardai has also done nothing but warm the Wolfsburg bench.
There’s naturally reasoning behind the benching of both players, but the fact that neither one has at least not gotten a token relief appearance remains curious. Kumbedi – a highly coveted deadline day signing – was supposed to take some of the load of Wolfsburg right back Kilian Fischer. Dardai’s complete absence from the pitch is odd given the fact that the midfielder can also fill in as a centre-back; something the team desperately needs.
In Kumbedi’s case, it appears that the language barrier is keeping the Lyon loanee from breaking through in training. The French U21 international – per Kicker – doesn’t have a solid grasp of either English or German. This obviously wouldn’t have been a problem in the days of Joshua Guilavogui’s VfL captaincy or even when Maxence Lacroix was with the club. At present, however, there are no Frenchmen on the team apart from the injured Mathys Angely.
Dardai seems to have been squeezed out at all his positions. In central midfield, Simonis is busy trying to figure out a way to integrate record signing Vinicius Souza into the team. Christian Eriksen’s arrival leaves him without much prospect of working in attacking midfield and the roster is loaded down with wingers/attack-minded midfielders.
Dardai’s experience in central defense is actually rather scant. Simonis’ reaction to Denis Vavro’s long-term absence has been to fall back on want-away centre-back Moritz Jenz whilst giving deadline day acquisition Jenson Seelt auditions in friendlies. There simply appears to be no place for the youngest Dardai brother, whose elder siblings Palko and Marton are still earning minutes elsewhere.
With an estimated market value of €12m, Bence Dardai happens to be a rather expensive player to be doing nothing more than gracing the dugout. Bence’s lack of playing time also renders him non-candidate to represent the heritage country he so proudly committed to last February.
While Bence’s older brother Marton is off on international duty with the Hungarian national team this week, Bence was stuck preparing to contest a friendly against Marton and his former club Hertha BSC. Bence at least played 90 minutes in the unofficial 0-2 loss.
Despite all the adversity, Bence attempted to conduct himself with professionalism and class in a recent interview with Kicker. In point of fact, the 19-year-old expressed enthusiasm about facing his former club.
“It’s a special game for me,” Dardai said. “I’m really looking forward to seeing many familiar faces again. Athletic trainers, physios, and former teammates. It’s also important for me to get playing time.“
“I don’t have any strong arguments at the moment,” Dardai – who made 25 appearances across all competitions under Ralph Hasenhüttl last year – said of his current playing-time situation. “It’s a difficult phase that I just have to get through.
“Of course, I had hoped for more, especially because I showed last season that I can play at this level,” Dardai nevertheless continued. “So it’s bitter to not be playing at all at the moment. I assumed that I would at least get some minutes this season.”
“The coach is relying on other players and some new players have joined,” Dardai concluded. “I really want to play. I really want to help the team, but there’s brutal competition. Such phases are part of development. I’ll continue to fight for minutes. Perhaps this will make me stronger.“
