Well fellow Wolfsburg supporters across the states and across the Atlantic, it's about time I launch a new VfL thread for the new season. We look to improve on our 8th place finish under our genius of a Head Coach, none other that the man they (and we) like to call "Champion Maker" and also "Qualix", none other than Felix Magath. Our first round match of the DfB-Pokal is this coming one week from tonight, as you see whom will be our first victims on our way to being once again contenders for Europa if not Champions league let alone the title. 18.08.2012, 20.30 FC Schönberg 95 - VfL Wolfsburg (Saturday August 18th at 2:30 pm/14:30 ET/11:30 am PT, LIVE, in the US) I'm Ray Jackson for VfL-USA Northwest, and we'll leave a brat on the grill for you. Enjoy the new season everybody, and simply remember this: IMMER NUR DU Der Grün-Weiße VfL!!! IN FELIX WE TRUST!!!
Nice start Ray! Some questions about VfL: 1) How many attackers this season? One, two or three?? 2) While Helmes is recovering from knee surgery, who starts as central striker? Olic, Lakic, Dost, someone else? 3) I'm guessing Naldo and Pogatetz will start in central defense?? 4) Will Magath really keep guys like Kyrgiakos, Kjaer, Madlung and Ochs on the payroll and make them train with VfL II instead of selling them or loaning them out?? EDIT: I'm seeing now that Kjaer and Magath may have reached an agreement on Kjaer staying on???
I just hope that the friction between Felix Magath with both Simon Kjaer and with Diego is (at least for now) over with and that the two will be ready to get it on come Saturday afternoon at Schönberg in our first round DfB Cup matchup, I'm sure that they will definitely try to put this BS aside from the past 2 seasons and I believe they will be ready to redeem themselves with their play on the pitch, but I also think that they will both be on a short leash so if anything goes wrong Felix will not hesitate to do something about it. Note that I don't know too much German right now although I can translate some dialogue (during a match) but can't follow live audio in it too well, and although with every season, I am picking more-and-more of it up, and I'd love to learn German so I don't miss a word that match commentators and Sky Deutschland analysts in Studio during the halftime and prematch shows have to say. As for whom will start this neason at both the forward (until Patrick Helmes recovers from knee surgery) and CD spots I don't currently know at this time but I know that Magath will give his roster of defenders and forwards a chance to audition themselves in match action and also during training, then he'll weed out the good ones from the bad ones when suiting up the weekly matchday 18, but I'm sure that Ashkan Dejagah will definitely be an option to start as a forward, he had a great season last year and I'm sure he'll be wanting to improve on that.
On a short leash for what? Both players' problem was that they both wanted to be elsewhere. That isn't going to happen and they know it. I don't think it will be an issue with Kjaer. Diego is another story. However, he also knows his best way out of Wolfsburg is to play well. I'm curious to know what you think it is Magth will "do about it" that won't hurt the team at least a little? Good luck with that man! I'm sure Dejagah will have a chance to start, but on the outside. I don't think he's going to start at center forward/central striker. My question was about the central position.
After FINALLY figuring out which plug-in to download after cleaning out my PC (iLivid plug-in), we are in the 40th minute and it is 0:2 Wolfsburg in our 1st round DfB-Pokal match against Schoenberg. IMMER NUR DU Der Grün-Weiße VfL!!! IN FELIX WE TRUST!!!
DIEGOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 0:3 Schoenberg-Wolfsburg in the 43rd minute Welcome back Diego!!! We missed ya!!! Anyone noticed Diego is wearing his familiar #10, ironically the very same number he wore while playing for Werder Bremen? IMMER NUR DU Der Grün-Weiße VfL!!! IN FELIX WE TRUST!!!
Somehow Sky is doubling up two different matches and switching between the two, in addition to the Schoenberg-Wolfsburg match they are also televising the Offenbach-Greuther Fuerth match as well, so please bare with me if I'm not on the same page here. Thanks. IMMER NUR DU Der Grün-Weiße VfL!!! IN FELIX WE TRUST!!! GO WOLFSBURG!!!
Apparently, after my stream froze up to the poiunt I had to reload several times, here it is, the 65th minute and it is a whitewash, as it is now Schoenberg 0:5 Wolfsburg IMMER NUR DU Der Grün-Weiße VfL!!! IN FELIX WE TRUST!!! GO WOLFSBURG!!!
Well, after dealing with not one but TWO virus scans because of some of the BS that piggybacked their way onto my PC during the match, I am proud to announce that yes, VfL Wolfsburg are moving on to the next round of te DfB-Pokal, with a convincing 0:5 win over FC Schoenberg. Our next bit of business, is to get the team ready for Matchday 1 of the 2012-13 Bundesliga season, which begins one week from today, when we return to Mercedes-Benz Arena to avenge our loss there to the same club that knocked us out of the UEFA Europa League on the last Matchday of last season, VfB Stuttgart, and hopefully, we will get our 3 points worth in that one.
You hadn't even reached it with a win at Stuttgart. Stuttgart would have had 50 (53-3) points, Hannover still 48 and Wolfsburg 47 (44+3). But nevertheless it was a good run in the second part of the season by VfL.
Somehow I envy BIGHMW - even a cup game against Schönberg sounds like a daring tale of high adventure full of drama and suspense in this thread. You can even forgive the frequent exposition.
After a crucial penalty stop by Diego Benaglio in the 87th minute, Bas Dost, one of the new signings for VfL this summer, scores in the 90th minute!!!! 0:1 Stuttgart - Wolfsburg!!! It is now a FINAL, and a crucial 3 points for Der Grun-Weisse VfL!!!
Dude, unless you're thinking your club is going to be fighting relegation, I seriously doubt three points on opening day are "crucial."
Well, considering the fact that we lost the last game of last season to VfB Stuttgart, plus the fact that Felix Magath wanted to get his club off to a good start, I consider the 3 points to be crucial, at least with the circumstances mentioned previously. MAN OF THE MATCH: Diego Benaglio - his penalty stop in the 88th minute was the big turning point of the match in what seemed to be doomed to be a nonchalant sure-fire 0:0 tilt with few good chances at either net until then (except maybe that blown free-header by Olic on a perfect setup from Ashkan Dejagah midway in the 1st half.).
If the coach wanting to win makes a game crucial... I am pretty sure than every game of football, ever, can be considered crucial .
I'm sure he could. Doesn't make it so. But OK. I see where I'm a bit too dismissive here. My apologies. I can see these two fighting for a European spot later in the season.
It IS a huge loss for us, Ashkan Dejagah was one of the main reasons why VfL finished 8th last season, along with the return of Felix Magath of course, but I don't like this direction that we're headed, first we sell Mario Mandzukic to (of all teams) Bayern, then Patrick Helmes is out due to off-season knee surgery, and now THIS news, I guess that it's gonna be up to Bas Dost and the rest of the midfield and forwards to carry the load, at least until Felix can do some more of that mojo that he's capable of doing, much like he did last year, with a makeshift lineup in the starting 11, but I DO know that the defenders and Diego Benaglio will hold down the fort defensively for our Derby matchup Sunday morning at home to Hannover 96 (official atart Sunday at 3:30 pm in Germany/9:30 am ET/6:30 am PT LIVE on GolTV here in the States and Sky Deutschland throughout Germany)