VfL Wolfsburg
Encyclopedia
VfL Wolfsburg is a professional German association football club
based in Wolfsburg
, Lower Saxony
, who play in the Bundesliga
football competition. Wolfsburg have won the Bundesliga
once in their history, in the 2008–09 season, and were DFB-Pokal
runners-up in 1995. The current head coach is Felix Magath
. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen
workers in the city of Wolfsburg and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Volkswagen Group
.
. The first football club affiliated with the autoworks was known as BSG Volkswagenwerk Stadt des KdF-Wagen, a works team
. This team played in the first division Gauliga Osthannover in the 1943–44 and 1944–45 seasons.
On 12 September 1945, in the aftermath of World War II, a new club was formed and was known briefly as VSK Wolfsburg. This side began play in the green and white still worn by VfL today: local youth trainer Bernd Elberskirch had ten green jerseys at his disposal and white bed sheets donated by the public were sewn together by local women to make shorts.
On 15 December 1945, the club went through a crisis that almost ended its existence when all but one of its players left to join 1. FC Wolfsburg. The only player remaining, Josef Meyer, worked with Willi Hilbert to rebuild the side by signing new players. The new group adopted the moniker VfL Wolfsburg, VfL standing for Verein für Leibesübungen. This can be translated as "club for gymnastics" or "club for exercises." Within a year they captured the local Gifhorn
title. In late November 1946, the club played a friendly against longtime Gelsenkirchen
powerhouse Schalke 04 at the stadium owned by Volkswagen, emerging as the successor to BSG as the company sponsored side.
. However, Wolfsburg struggled in the top flight, narrowly missing relegation each season until finally being sent down in 1959. When Germany's first professional football league – the Bundesliga – was formed in 1963, VfL was playing in the Regionalliga Nord (II) having just moved up from the Verbandesliga Niedersachsen (III).
Wolfsburg remained a second division fixture over the next dozen years with their best performance being a second place finish in 1970. That finish earned the club entry to the promotion round playoffs for the Bundesliga where they performed poorly and were unable to advance. From the mid-70's through to the early 90's Die Wölfe played as a third division side in the Amateur Oberliga Nord. Consecutive first place finishes in 1991 and 1992, followed by success in the promotion playoffs saw the club advance to the 2. Bundesliga
for the 1992–93 season.
VfL continued to enjoy some success through the 90's. The team advanced to the final of the German Cup in 1995 where they were beaten 0–3 by Borussia Mönchengladbach
, but then went on to the top flight on the strength of a second place league finish in 1997.
Early predictions were that the club would immediately be sent back down, but instead, the Wolves developed into a mid-table Bundesliga side. In the 1998–99 season, Wolfsburg under Wolfgang Wolf
, was holding the fifth place in the 33rd fixture, and they had hopes to reach the 4th place, and the UEFA Champions League participation. Losing 6–1 away to Duisburg
in the final fixture, the Wolves finished in the 6th place with 55 points, and qualified to the UEFA Cup
. They qualified for the Intertoto Cup in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2005, enjoying their best run in 2003 by reaching the final where they lost to Italian side AC Perugia. This was followed by a couple of seasons of little success for the club when only narrowly avoiding relegation with two 15th place finishes in the 2005–06 and 2006–07 season.
manager Felix Magath
, with whom they managed to finish an astonishing 5th place at the end of the season, the highest finish for the club at the time. This also enabled the Wolves to qualify for the UEFA Cup
, for only the second time in their history.
In the 2008–09 season, under Magath, Wolfsburg claimed their biggest success by winning their first Bundesliga title after defeating Werder Bremen
5–1 on 23 May 2009. During this campaign, Wolfsburg equalled the longest winning streak in one Bundesliga season with 10 successive victories after the winter break. They also became the only team in the Bundesliga to have had two strikers scoring more than 20 goals each in one season, with Brazilian Grafite
and Bosnian Edin Džeko
achieving this feat in their title-winning season, scoring 28 and 26 respectively. As a result of their title win, Wolfsburg qualified for the UEFA Champions League
for the first time in their history.
In the 2009–10 season
, Wolfsburg dismissed their newly-appointed trainer Armin Veh
after the winter break, due to lack of success, with the club sitting tenth in the league. In the Champions League they came third in their group, behind Manchester United
and CSKA Moscow, losing the chance for a place in the competition's successive round. As a result, they qualified for the Round of 32 phase of the UEFA Europa League. They defeated Spanish side Villareal 6–3 on aggregate, and Russian champions Rubin Kazan
3–2. In the quarter finals they were however, beaten 3–1 by eventual finalists Fulham
.
On 11 May 2010, the permanent head coach's position was filled by former England
manager Steve McClaren
. After having guided Twente
to their first ever Dutch title
he was rewarded by becoming the first ever English coach to be given the chance to manage a Bundesliga side. On 7 February 2011 it was announced that McClaren had been sacked and that Pierre Littbarski
would be taking over.
However, Wolfsburg lost for fourth time in five matches under him and they finally slipped into the relegation places.
On 18 March 2011, Wolfsburg confirmed that Felix Magath
would return as head coach and sporting director, almost two years since he led them to the Bundesliga title and just two days after being fired from his position at Schalke 04. He signed a two-year contract with the club.
play at the Volkswagen Arena
, which seats a total capacity of 30,000 spectators. Volkswagen Arena
is a multi-purpose stadium in Wolfsburg
, Germany and serves as the home stadium for 2008/09 Bundesliga champions VfL Wolfsburg. The Volkswagen Arena
finished construction in 2002. Before completion, VfL Wolfsburg played their home games at the 20,500 capacity VfL-Stadium, where the amateur squad still plays. Currently the stadium is used mostly for the home games of VfL Wolfsburg, and is the site where they won their first Bundesliga title in the 2008-2009 season. Elton John, Anastacia and Bonnie Tyler performed their songs in the Volkswagen Arena
Alexander Strehmel
Thomas Brdaric Martin Wagner
Zoltán Sebescen
Stefan Effenberg
Mike Hanke
Roy Präger
Tobias Rau
Albert Streit
Stefan Schnoor
Hans Sarpei
Pablo Thiam
Diego Klimowicz
Andres D'Alessandro
Facundo Hernán Quiroga
Dietmar Kühbauer
Peter Van Der Heyden
Edin Džeko
Zvjezdan Misimović
Grafite
Marcelinho Robson Ponte
Marian Hristov
Petar Mihtarski
Martin Petrov
Waldo Ponce
Jean-Kasongo Banza Tomislav Marić
Jesper Christiansen
Peter Madsen
Thomas Rytter
Claus Thomsen
Steve Marlet
Levan Tskitishvili
Charles Akonnor Isaac Boakye
Mahmood Ebrahimzadeh
Kevin Hofland
Obafemi Martins
Jonathan Akpoborie
Krzysztof Nowak
Waldemar Kryger
Andrzej Juskowiak
Dorinel Munteanu
Brian O'Neil Miroslav Karhan
Claudio Reyna
Brian McBride
Chad Deering
Mike Lapper
Football in Germany
Association football is the most popular sport in Germany. The German Football Association is the sport's national governing body, with 6.6 million members organized in over 26,000 football clubs. There is a league system, with the 1. and 2. Bundesliga on top, and the winner of the first...
based in Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located on the River Aller northeast of Braunschweig , and is mainly notable as the headquarters of Volkswagen AG...
, Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
, who play in the Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
football competition. Wolfsburg have won the Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
once in their history, in the 2008–09 season, and were DFB-Pokal
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal or DFB Cup is a German knockout football cup competition held annually. 64 teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga. It is considered the second most important national title in German football after the Bundesliga...
runners-up in 1995. The current head coach is Felix Magath
Felix Magath
Wolfgang-Felix Magath is a former German football central midfielder and current manager of VfL Wolfsburg.-Playing career:...
. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
workers in the city of Wolfsburg and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Volkswagen Group
Volkswagen Group
Volkswagen Group is a German multinational automobile manufacturing group. , Volkswagen was ranked as the world’s third largest motor vehicle manufacturer and Europe's largest....
.
A new team in a new city
The city of Wolfsburg was founded in 1938 as Stadt des KdF-Wagen to house autoworkers building the car which would later become famous as the Volkswagen BeetleVolkswagen Beetle
The Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle or Volkswagen Bug, is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003...
. The first football club affiliated with the autoworks was known as BSG Volkswagenwerk Stadt des KdF-Wagen, a works team
Works team
A works team is a sports team that is financed and run by a manufacturer or other business. Sometimes, works teams contain or are entirely made up of employees of the supporting company.-Africa:...
. This team played in the first division Gauliga Osthannover in the 1943–44 and 1944–45 seasons.
On 12 September 1945, in the aftermath of World War II, a new club was formed and was known briefly as VSK Wolfsburg. This side began play in the green and white still worn by VfL today: local youth trainer Bernd Elberskirch had ten green jerseys at his disposal and white bed sheets donated by the public were sewn together by local women to make shorts.
On 15 December 1945, the club went through a crisis that almost ended its existence when all but one of its players left to join 1. FC Wolfsburg. The only player remaining, Josef Meyer, worked with Willi Hilbert to rebuild the side by signing new players. The new group adopted the moniker VfL Wolfsburg, VfL standing for Verein für Leibesübungen. This can be translated as "club for gymnastics" or "club for exercises." Within a year they captured the local Gifhorn
Gifhorn
Gifhorn is a town and capital of the district Gifhorn in the east of Lower Saxony, Germany. It has a population of about 42,000 and is mainly influenced by the small distance to the industrial and commercially important cities nearby, Brunswick and Wolfsburg...
title. In late November 1946, the club played a friendly against longtime Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the Ruhr area. Its population in 2006 was c. 267,000....
powerhouse Schalke 04 at the stadium owned by Volkswagen, emerging as the successor to BSG as the company sponsored side.
Postwar play
The club made slow but steady progress in the following seasons. They captured a number of amateur level championships, but were unable to advance out of the promotion playoffs until finally breaking through to the top tier Oberliga Nord in 1954 with a 2–1 victory over Heider SVHeider SV
Heider SV is a German association football club from the city of Heide, Schleswig-Holstein. The club was founded 14 October 1925 by what was the reserve side of VfL 05 Heide. The reservists thought they were the better side and challenged the first team to a match, which they won...
. However, Wolfsburg struggled in the top flight, narrowly missing relegation each season until finally being sent down in 1959. When Germany's first professional football league – the Bundesliga – was formed in 1963, VfL was playing in the Regionalliga Nord (II) having just moved up from the Verbandesliga Niedersachsen (III).
Second division and advance to the Bundesliga
2. Fußball-Bundesliga
- Changes in division set-up :* Number of clubs: currently 18. From 1974 to 1981 there were two conferences, each of 20 teams. In 1981–91 it had 20...
for the 1992–93 season.
VfL continued to enjoy some success through the 90's. The team advanced to the final of the German Cup in 1995 where they were beaten 0–3 by Borussia Mönchengladbach
Borussia Mönchengladbach
Borussia Mönchengladbach is a German association football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia. The team plays in the Bundesliga and is one of the country's most well-known, well-supported, and successful teams. Borussia Mönchengladbach has over 40,000 members and is the sixth...
, but then went on to the top flight on the strength of a second place league finish in 1997.
Early predictions were that the club would immediately be sent back down, but instead, the Wolves developed into a mid-table Bundesliga side. In the 1998–99 season, Wolfsburg under Wolfgang Wolf
Wolfgang Wolf
Wolfgang Wolf is a German football coach and a former player.-Career:As a player, he spent 12 seasons in the Bundesliga with 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Stuttgarter Kickers.-Coaching career:...
, was holding the fifth place in the 33rd fixture, and they had hopes to reach the 4th place, and the UEFA Champions League participation. Losing 6–1 away to Duisburg
MSV Duisburg
MSV Duisburg is a German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed "the Zebras" for their traditional striped jerseys, the club was one of the original members of the Bundesliga when it was formed in 1963.-Early years:...
in the final fixture, the Wolves finished in the 6th place with 55 points, and qualified to the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup 1999-00
The UEFA Cup 1999-2000 season was won by Galatasaray of Turkey, who defeated Arsenal of England in the final. The game was scoreless through the first ninety minutes and stayed that way through thirty minutes of extra time. The game went on to penalty kicks in which Gheorghe Popescu, the Romanian...
. They qualified for the Intertoto Cup in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2005, enjoying their best run in 2003 by reaching the final where they lost to Italian side AC Perugia. This was followed by a couple of seasons of little success for the club when only narrowly avoiding relegation with two 15th place finishes in the 2005–06 and 2006–07 season.
2008–present
For the 2007–08 season the club hired former Bayern MunichFC Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich , is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which is the most successful football club in Germany, having won 22 national titles and 15 cups....
manager Felix Magath
Felix Magath
Wolfgang-Felix Magath is a former German football central midfielder and current manager of VfL Wolfsburg.-Playing career:...
, with whom they managed to finish an astonishing 5th place at the end of the season, the highest finish for the club at the time. This also enabled the Wolves to qualify for the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
, for only the second time in their history.
In the 2008–09 season, under Magath, Wolfsburg claimed their biggest success by winning their first Bundesliga title after defeating Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen is a German sports club best known for its association football team playing in Bremen, in the northwest German federal state of the same name. The club was founded on 4 February 1899 as Fußballverein Werder by a group of sixteen vocational high school students who had won a prize...
5–1 on 23 May 2009. During this campaign, Wolfsburg equalled the longest winning streak in one Bundesliga season with 10 successive victories after the winter break. They also became the only team in the Bundesliga to have had two strikers scoring more than 20 goals each in one season, with Brazilian Grafite
Grafite
Edinaldo Batista Libânio , commonly known as Grafite is a Brazilian footballer who plays for UAE Football League club Al-Ahli Dubai....
and Bosnian Edin Džeko
Edin Džeko
Edin Džeko is a Bosnian footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester City and the Bosnian national team. He was named Bosnian Footballer of the Year for 2009 and 2010...
achieving this feat in their title-winning season, scoring 28 and 26 respectively. As a result of their title win, Wolfsburg qualified for the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League 2009–10
The 2009–10 UEFA Champions League was the 55th season of Europe's premier club football tournament and the 18th under the current UEFA Champions League format. The final was played on 22 May 2010, at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, home ground of Real Madrid, in Madrid, Spain. The final was won by...
for the first time in their history.
In the 2009–10 season
2009–10 Fußball-Bundesliga
The 2009–10 Fußball-Bundesliga was the 47th season of the Fußball-Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. The season commenced on 7 August 2009 with the traditional season opening match involving the defending champions VfL Wolfsburg and VfB Stuttgart. The last games were played on 8 May 2010...
, Wolfsburg dismissed their newly-appointed trainer Armin Veh
Armin Veh
Armin Veh is a German former footballer and current manager who works for Eintracht Frankfurt. He won the German championship with Bundesliga team VfB Stuttgart on 19 May 2007. Veh and his team also had the chance to win "the double" by winning the DFB-Cup on 26 May 2007 in Berlin, but lost 2–3 in...
after the winter break, due to lack of success, with the club sitting tenth in the league. In the Champions League they came third in their group, behind Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
and CSKA Moscow, losing the chance for a place in the competition's successive round. As a result, they qualified for the Round of 32 phase of the UEFA Europa League. They defeated Spanish side Villareal 6–3 on aggregate, and Russian champions Rubin Kazan
FC Rubin Kazan
FC Rubin Kazan is a Russian association football club based in the city of Kazan . Rubin won the Russian Premier League championship in 2008 and 2009.-History:...
3–2. In the quarter finals they were however, beaten 3–1 by eventual finalists Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
.
On 11 May 2010, the permanent head coach's position was filled by former England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
manager Steve McClaren
Steve McClaren
Stephen "Steve" McClaren is an English football manager and former player.McClaren was previously manager of VfL Wolfsburg in Germany between May 2010 and February 2011, having left his post at Dutch side FC Twente, with whom he won the club's first Eredivisie championship in the 2009–10 season...
. After having guided Twente
FC Twente
FC Twente is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, playing in the Eredivisie. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Eredivisie Champions, Sportclub Enschede and Enschedese Boys...
to their first ever Dutch title
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
he was rewarded by becoming the first ever English coach to be given the chance to manage a Bundesliga side. On 7 February 2011 it was announced that McClaren had been sacked and that Pierre Littbarski
Pierre Littbarski
Pierre Michael Littbarski is a German football manager and former player. He was mainly a winger or attacking midfielder and is best known for his brilliant dribbling abilities. He was a FIFA World Cup winner with West Germany in 1990. He was also runner–up twice in 1982 and 1986 with West Germany...
would be taking over.
However, Wolfsburg lost for fourth time in five matches under him and they finally slipped into the relegation places.
On 18 March 2011, Wolfsburg confirmed that Felix Magath
Felix Magath
Wolfgang-Felix Magath is a former German football central midfielder and current manager of VfL Wolfsburg.-Playing career:...
would return as head coach and sporting director, almost two years since he led them to the Bundesliga title and just two days after being fired from his position at Schalke 04. He signed a two-year contract with the club.
Senior
- BundesligaFußball-BundesligaThe Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
:- Winners (1): 2008–09
- DFB-PokalDFB-PokalThe DFB-Pokal or DFB Cup is a German knockout football cup competition held annually. 64 teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga. It is considered the second most important national title in German football after the Bundesliga...
:- Runners-up (1): 1994–95
- German Amateur Football ChampionshipGerman amateur football championshipThe German amateur football championship was a football competition in Germany, existing from 1950 to 2000, organised by the German Football Association, the DFB.-Overview:...
:- Runners-up (1): 1963
- Regionalliga Nord (II):
- Runners-up (1): 1970
- Amateuroberliga Niedersachsen-Ost (II):
- Winners (3): 1952, 1954, 1963
- Oberliga NordOberliga NordThe Oberliga Nord was the fourth tier of the German football league system in the north of Germany. It covered the states of Niedersachsen, Bremen, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein...
(III):- Winners (2): 1991, 1992, 2009, 2010
- Runners-up (3): 1976, 1978, 1988
Youth
- German Under 19 championship
- Runners-up (1): 2008
- Under 19 Bundesliga North/NortheastUnder 19 Bundesliga (football)The Under 19 Fußball-Bundesliga is the highest level in German Under 19 football. It was created in 2003 and is divided in three divisions with 14 teams each...
- Winners (1): 2008
- Under 17 Bundesliga North/NortheastUnder 17 Bundesliga (football)The Under 17 Bundesliga is the highest level of play in German football for male juniors between the ages of 15 and 17. It was formed in 2007 and operates in three regional divisions with 14 clubs each...
- Winners (1): 2009
Stadium
WolfsburgWolfsburg
Wolfsburg is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located on the River Aller northeast of Braunschweig , and is mainly notable as the headquarters of Volkswagen AG...
play at the Volkswagen Arena
Volkswagen Arena
Volkswagen Arena is a multi-purpose stadium in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany and serves as the home stadium for 2008/09 Bundesliga champions VfL Wolfsburg. The Volkswagen Arena replaced the former stadium of VfL Wolfsburg, the VFL Stadion.- History :...
, which seats a total capacity of 30,000 spectators. Volkswagen Arena
Volkswagen Arena
Volkswagen Arena is a multi-purpose stadium in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany and serves as the home stadium for 2008/09 Bundesliga champions VfL Wolfsburg. The Volkswagen Arena replaced the former stadium of VfL Wolfsburg, the VFL Stadion.- History :...
is a multi-purpose stadium in Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located on the River Aller northeast of Braunschweig , and is mainly notable as the headquarters of Volkswagen AG...
, Germany and serves as the home stadium for 2008/09 Bundesliga champions VfL Wolfsburg. The Volkswagen Arena
Volkswagen Arena
Volkswagen Arena is a multi-purpose stadium in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany and serves as the home stadium for 2008/09 Bundesliga champions VfL Wolfsburg. The Volkswagen Arena replaced the former stadium of VfL Wolfsburg, the VFL Stadion.- History :...
finished construction in 2002. Before completion, VfL Wolfsburg played their home games at the 20,500 capacity VfL-Stadium, where the amateur squad still plays. Currently the stadium is used mostly for the home games of VfL Wolfsburg, and is the site where they won their first Bundesliga title in the 2008-2009 season. Elton John, Anastacia and Bonnie Tyler performed their songs in the Volkswagen Arena
Volkswagen Arena
Volkswagen Arena is a multi-purpose stadium in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany and serves as the home stadium for 2008/09 Bundesliga champions VfL Wolfsburg. The Volkswagen Arena replaced the former stadium of VfL Wolfsburg, the VFL Stadion.- History :...
First team squad
For recent transfers, see List of German football transfers summer 2011 and List of German football transfers winter 2010–11.- As of 29 August 2011.
Players out on loan
VfL Wolfsburg II squad
Manager: Alexander StrehmelAlexander Strehmel
Alexander Strehmel is a German football coach and a former player.-External links:*...
Coaching staff
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Felix Magath Felix Magath Wolfgang-Felix Magath is a former German football central midfielder and current manager of VfL Wolfsburg.-Playing career:... |
| Assistant coach | Bernd Hollerbach Bernd Hollerbach Bernd Hollerbach is a German football coach and a former player who is currently an assistant coach with VfL Wolfsburg.-Honours:* Bundesliga 3rd place: 2000.* DFB-Pokal winner: 1996.* DFB-Ligapokal winner: 2003.... |
| Goalkeeping coach | Andreas Hilfiker Andreas Hilfiker Andreas Hilfiker is a former Swiss international footballer.- Playing career :Hilfiker joined FC Aarau in 1986, playing nearly 200 league games for the first team in over 10 years before moving to Germany, where he signed for 1. FC Nuremberg. At this time, in the late 1990s, he made eight... |
| Fitness coach | Werner Leuthard |
| Fitness coach | Alessandro Schoenmaker |
Notable former players
Willi GiesemannWilli Giesemann
Wilhelm Giesemann is a former German football player.Half back Giesemann was part of the West Germany squad at the 1962 FIFA World Cup and played in two West German matches there....
Thomas Brdaric Martin Wagner
Martin Wagner (footballer)
Martin Wagner is a former German football player who is currently running player agency MaWa Consult.- Honours :* Bundesliga champion: 1998* Bundesliga runner-up: 1994* DFB-Pokal winner: 1996- External links :*...
Zoltán Sebescen
Zoltán Sebescen
Zoltán Sebescen is a former German football player of Hungarian descent. He is now a football coach.-Club career:...
Stefan Effenberg
Stefan Effenberg
Stefan Effenberg is a retired German footballer. A central midfielder, he possessed leadership skills, powerful shooting ability, physical strength, but also a fearsome and controversial character....
Mike Hanke
Mike Hanke
Mike Hanke is a German football player who plays the position of striker, with Germany's Borussia Mönchengladbach.-Club career:Hanke made his debut in the 2001–02 season of the German Bundesliga for Schalke 04...
Roy Präger
Roy Präger
Roy Präger is a German football player currently playing for TSV Hehlingen.-External links:...
Tobias Rau
Tobias Rau
Tobias Rau is a retired German footballer, who played as a left defender.In a career blighted by injuries, he was forced to retire at only 27.-VfL Wolfsburg:...
Albert Streit
Albert Streit
Albert Streit is a German footballer who plays in midfield for Schalke 04 II.-Career:Streit signed a three-year contract with Eintracht Frankfurt following the relegation of his previous team, 1. FC Köln, on 9 May 2006....
Stefan Schnoor
Stefan Schnoor
Stefan Schnoor is a German football defender.Schnoor made his name at Hamburger SV but left the club on a free transfer in 1998 to join Derby County F.C.. After two and a half years in England, scoring twice against Leicester City and Leeds United, he returned to Germany with VfL Wolfsburg in a...
Hans SarpeiHans Sarpei
Hans Adu Sarpei is a Ghanaian-German footballer who plays as a full back for Bundesliga side Schalke 04 and the Ghana national football team.-Club career:...
Pablo ThiamPablo Thiam
Pablo Thiam is a retired Guinean football defensive midfielder. He holds a German passport.-Career:Thiam grew up as the son of a Guinean diplomat in the former German capital Bonn. He started his football career in MSV Bonn. At the age of 15, he went to 1. FC Köln, for whom he debuted in the...
Diego Klimowicz
Diego Klimowicz
Diego Fernando Klimowicz is an Argentine football forward who plays for Instituto.-Career:Klimowicz started his career at Instituto in the Argentine Primera B Nacional in 1993...
Andres D'Alessandro
Andrés D'Alessandro
Andrés Nicolás D'Alessandro is a left-footed Argentine footballer who currently plays for Sport Club Internacional in Brazil. He is best known for his dribbling and his short passing ability.-Early career:...
Facundo Hernán Quiroga
Facundo Hernán Quiroga
Facundo Hernán Quiroga is an Argentine footballer who plays for Club Atlético All Boys in the Argentine first division. Mainly a central defender, he can also play in the right flank.-Club career:...
Dietmar Kühbauer
Dietmar Kühbauer
Dietmar Kühbauer is a former Austrian football midfielder, currently works as Head Coach from Trenkwalder Admira II.-Club career:...
Peter Van Der Heyden
Peter Van Der Heyden
Peter Van Der Heyden is a Belgian footballer who currently plays for Beerschot AC.-Career:His former clubs include Eendracht Aalst, VfL Wolfsburg and FSV Mainz 05. His natural position is at left fullback...
Edin Džeko
Edin Džeko
Edin Džeko is a Bosnian footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester City and the Bosnian national team. He was named Bosnian Footballer of the Year for 2009 and 2010...
Zvjezdan Misimović
Zvjezdan Misimovic
Zvjezdan Misimović is a German-born Bosnian footballer who plays for FC Dynamo Moscow...
Grafite
Grafite
Edinaldo Batista Libânio , commonly known as Grafite is a Brazilian footballer who plays for UAE Football League club Al-Ahli Dubai....
Marcelinho Robson Ponte
Robson Ponte
Robson Ponte is a Brazilian former footballer. He spent most of his career at Bayer Leverkusen in Germany and Urawa Red Diamonds in Japan.-Club career:Although Ponte is born in Brazil, he also holds Italian nationality...
Marian Hristov
Marian Hristov
Marian Hristov is a Bulgarian footballer, who is currently playing for PFC Balkan Botevgrad of the Bulgarian B PFG.-Career:Hristov's first club was PFC Balkan Botevgrad...
Petar Mihtarski
Petar Mihtarski
Petar Sotirov Mihtarski is a retired Bulgarian footballer who played as a striker.-Club career:Born in Blagoevgrad, Mihtarski spent the first 13 years of his career with local FC Pirin, making his first-team - and first division - debuts in 1982–83, appearing in eight games and scoring four goals...
Martin Petrov
Martin Petrov
Martin Petyov Petrov is a Bulgarian footballer, currently playing for Bolton Wanderers in the Premier League.-Club career:Petrov began his career for Botev Vratsa...
Waldo Ponce
Waldo Ponce
Waldo Alonso Ponce Carrizo is a Chilean football defender who plays for club Cruz Azul in Mexico and the Chilean national team.-Universidad de Chile:...
Jean-Kasongo Banza Tomislav Marić
Tomislav Maric
Tomislav Marić is a former German-born Croatian former football striker.-Trivia:He was born to Bosnian Croat parents in Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg and started his first-team career in 1992 at amateur side SpVgg 07 Ludwigsburg from the nearby Ludwigsburg in then third-division Oberliga...
Jesper Christiansen
Jesper Christiansen
Jesper Ringsborg Christiansen is a Danish professional footballer, who plays as a goalkeeper for IF Elfsborg in the Allsvenskan championship. He has previously played for Danish Superliga clubs Odense BK, Vejle BK, Viborg FF, and F.C. Copenhagen, winning four Superliga championships and two Danish...
Peter Madsen
Peter Madsen
Peter Planch Madsen is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Lyngby Boldklub on loan from Brøndby IF...
Thomas Rytter
Thomas Rytter
Thomas Rytter Jakobsen is a retired Danish footballer who played as a right-back. In 2001 he won the Danish Superliga championship with F.C. Copenhagen, and most prominently played for Spanish club Sevilla and German club Wolfsburg...
Claus Thomsen
Steve Marlet
Steve Marlet
Steve Marlet is a French footballer who is currently playing for amateur club CM Aubervilliers. The forward was capped 23 times and scored six goals for the French national team....
Levan Tskitishvili
Levan Tskitishvili
Levan Tskitishvili is a retired Georgian footballer.- Career :He started playing for Dinamo Tbilisi in 1994, and in 1998 he was transferred to SC Freiburg, teaming up with other Georgian players. During his time with Freiburg the midfielder Tskitishvili played 111 Bundesliga games...
Charles Akonnor Isaac Boakye
Isaac Boakye
Isaac Boakye is a Ghanaian International football striker who is currently a free agent.-Professional career:...
Mahmood Ebrahimzadeh
Mahmood Ebrahimzadeh
Mahmood Ebrahimzadeh is a retired Iranian footballer and now football coach. In 1980, during the Iran-Iraq War, he left Iran and went to Germany. He is now an American citizen.-Playing career:...
Kevin Hofland
Kevin Hofland
Kevin Hofland is a Dutch footballer who has played as a centre back in Cyprus for AEK Larnaca.-Early life:Hofland is born in Heerlen, but grew up in Brunssum, Limburg, Netherlands.-Fortuna Sittard:...
Obafemi Martins
Obafemi Martins
Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins is a Nigerian footballer who plays as a striker for Rubin Kazan and the Nigeria national team. He is known for his speed on the ball....
Jonathan Akpoborie
Jonathan Akpoborie
Jonathan Akpoborie is a former Nigerian football player who spent the majority of his playing career in Germany.- Career :...
Krzysztof Nowak
Krzysztof Nowak
Krzysztof Nowak was a Polish football player, best known for his stint with the VfL Wolfsburg team....
Waldemar Kryger
Waldemar Kryger
Waldemar Kryger , is a former Polish footballer, who played as a defender.He spent much of his career playing for Lech Poznań; Kryger played a total of 17 seasons for Kolejorz accumulating a total of 302 matches and scoring 3 goals...
Andrzej Juskowiak
Andrzej Juskowiak
Andrzej Mieczysław Juskowiak is a former Polish football striker, who played for Polish national team.-National team:Nicknamed "Jusko", he was a participant at the 1992 Summer Olympics, where Poland won the silver medal...
Dorinel Munteanu
Dorinel Munteanu
Dorinel Ionel Munteanu is a Romanian former football midfielder, and current manager of Oţelul Galaţi.-Club career:Munteanu started to play football for Metalul Bocşa, a team which offered him the first chance to play in Divizia B in 1986...
Brian O'Neil Miroslav Karhan
Miroslav Karhan
Miroslav Karhan is a Slovak football midfielder who currently captains FC Spartak Trnava.Karhan made 107 appearances for Slovakia and is the most capped Slovak footballer of all time...
Claudio Reyna
Claudio Reyna
Claudio Reyna is a retired American soccer player and the current USSF US Youth Soccer Technical Director. He was the captain of the United States national team before retiring from international football following the USA's exit from the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He is widely considered one of the...
Brian McBride
Brian McBride
Brian Robert McBride is a retired American soccer player who finished his career for Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer , but spent the majority of his time in MLS playing for the Columbus Crew. For much of his career he played in Europe, notably for Fulham in the English Premier League...
Chad Deering
Chad Deering
Chad Deering is a retired American soccer player. Deering spent his professional career in Germany, Norway, Major League Soccer and Major Indoor Soccer League...
Mike Lapper
Mike Lapper
Michael "Mike" Steven Lapper was is a retired American soccer defender. During his fifteen year career, most of it spent as a sweeper, he played in England, Germany and the United States. He earned 44 caps, scoring one goal, with the U.S. national soccer team between 1991 and 1995. He was part...