VFL Wolfsburg

VfL Wolfsburg is a Bundesliga side based in the city of Wolfsburg, in the German state of Lower Saxony. They were founded in 1945 as a works team for the workers and employees of Volkswagen, which still owns the club through a fully-owned subsidiary. The club has won one Bundesliga title and one German Cup.

Their biggest success unquestionably came in the 2008-09 season, when they won the Bundesliga for the first time, under the stewardship of Felix Magath. That season, they also set the record for the longest winning streak in the Bundesliga at that time, with ten straight victories, and also became the only team ever to have had two players scoring more than 20 goals in a season, with Edin Dzeko and Grafite both breaking this mark. Zvjezdan Misimovic also set the record for most assists in a single season, with 20, until this was broken by another Wolfsburg player, Kevin de Bruyne, in the 2014-15 season.

Wolfsburg’s next trophy came in the 2014-15 season, when they beat Borussia Dortmund in the DFB-Pokal final. They also finished runners-up behind Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. From those highs, the club have come perilously close to relegation in recent seasons, finishing in 16th place in both the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons, and having to win relegation playoffs to remain in the top flight at the end of both seasons.

Wolfsburg are based out of the Volkswagen Arena, a 30,000-capacity football stadium in Wolfsburg. They have played here since 2002, before which they used the VfL-Stadion am Elsterweg. The Volkswagen Arena was built upon Wolfsburg’s promotion to the Bundesliga in 1997, when the need for a new stadium to meet the Bundesliga’s requirements arose. Their colours and club crest have traditionally been in green and white, with the current home kit being a dark shade of green. Their biggest rivalry is with Hannover 96.

Currently, the first-team coach is Austrian Oliver Glasner, who was appointed at the start of this season. His previous managerial experience is with LASK Linz and SV Reid in Austria, while he was also an assistant manager at Red Bull Salzburg from 2012 to 2014. The side is currently captained by Josuha Guilavogui. The Frenchman joined Wolfsburg in 2014. 

The current season has seen Wolfsburg ensconced in mid-table. At the time of the league’s suspension, Wolfsburg were in seventh place, one point behind FC Schalke 04 and thus one place away from a Europa League qualifier spot, while they were level on points with SC Freiburg.