VfL Wolfsburg

This article deals with the former soccer department of VfL Wolfsburg e. V., which is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Volkswagen AG; for the club see VfL Wolfsburg (club) .

VfL Wolfsburg has redirected to this article. For the women's soccer team of the same name, see VfL Wolfsburg (women's soccer)

VfL Wolfsburg
Football company
Surname	VfL Wolfsburg Football GmbH
Seat	Wolfsburg , Lower Saxony
founding	September 12, 1945 ( VfL Wolfsburg e.V. ) January 16, 2001 (VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH)
Colours	Green white
Associate	Volkswagen Group Services GmbH → 100%: Volkswagen AG
Managing directors	Michael Meeske Jörg Schmadtke Tim Schumacher
Website	vfl-wolfsburg.de
First team
Head coach	Oliver Glasner
Venue	Volkswagen Arena
Places	30,000
league	Bundesliga
2019/20	7th place
home Away Alternatively

The VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH is a soccer company in Wolfsburg , the 2001 spin-off of the professional squad of 1945 founded Association for Physical Education Wolfsburg e. V. was created. Since Volkswagen AG had previously sponsored the association for more than 20 years, it was allowed to take over 90 percent of the company through an exception, contrary to the 50 + 1 rule , and finally all shares in the company at the end of 2007 (so-called Lex Leverkusen and Wolfsburg ).

VfL Wolfsburg's first team has played in the Bundesliga since 1997 . She became German champion in 2009 and won the DFB Cup and the DFL Supercup in 2015 .

history

The first years

As early as 1938, with the WKG VW Stadt des KdF-Wagens, a company sports association functioned within the Volkswagen factory, which was active in the Gauliga Osthannover until 1944 . In 1945, the competition community was prematurely withdrawn from gaming operations and dissolved.

Only a few months after it was founded on September 12, 1945, the club experienced its first major setback. Almost the entire team left the club and founded 1. FC Wolfsburg . The then coach Josef Meyer put together a new team.

In the first year of its existence, the team managed to win the 1st district class championship and advance to the district league . In the seasons 1951, 1952 and 1954 further titles followed in the amateur league Lower Saxony -Ost. In the last year mentioned, he was finally promoted to the Oberliga Nord , one of the highest German leagues at the time. In the last promotion game, VfL prevailed 2-1 against Heider SV .

In the Oberliga Nord

Away game at Holstein Kiel (0-0), February 7, 1965

Even if VfL Wolfsburg  caused a sensation in the first league year with a 1-0 win over Hamburger SV - the team that dominated the Oberliga Nord year after year and almost always became champions - the club otherwise played in it League class does not matter. In the first three years of membership, you only narrowly escaped relegation, whether under coach Ludwig Lachner , Ernst Sontow or Josef Kretschmann . Only the 1957/58 season under coach Walter Risse brought improvement with 11th place. In 1959, VfL under Imre Farkaszinski finally had to go back to the second division. The re-promotion to the Regionalliga Nord succeeded in 1963. In the same year, the team also reached the final of the German amateur championship , which they lost against the amateurs of VfB Stuttgart 0-1. During this time, several larger clubs, such as FC Bayern Munich and FC Santos , played test matches with VfL.

It was not until 1970 that the club was on the verge of promotion to the first division; Despite the runner-up in the Regionalliga Nord, promotion to the Bundesliga was missed. In the same year, VfL Wolfsburg took part in the first penalty shoot-out in the history of the DFB Cup. In the first main round of the DFB Cup in 1970/71 against FC Schalke 04, the new rule had to be used for the first time after a 2-2 draw in the first leg and a 1-1 draw in the replay. The wolves could only convert one penalty and were defeated 2: 4 on penalties.

VfL had qualified for the 2nd Bundesliga , founded in 1974 , but was relegated again in the premiere season and after a subsequent promotion and relegation disappeared from professional football for a good fifteen years, despite occasional participation in the promotion rounds to the 2nd Bundesliga good placements.

Promotion to second division and Bundesliga (1990–2007)

VfL ticket from the 2000/01 season

In the 1990/91 season they became champions for the first time in the Regionalliga Nord, but failed again in the promotion round. After another championship in 1992, the victory in the promotion round and thus the jump into the second division succeeded. Then the VfL was able to establish itself first in the second division. Under the leadership of manager Peter Pander , the club became a promoter in 1995. Despite leading the table until matchday 22, they failed because of the poorer goal difference to Fortuna Düsseldorf and lost the DFB Cup final against Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-0. On June 11, 1997, VfL finally rose to the Bundesliga. In a quasi-final against 1. FSV Mainz 05 , which could also have been promoted with a win, Wolfsburg won 5: 4. Roy Präger and Detlev Dammeier each scored two goals.

Since then, VfL Wolfsburg has become a fixture in the Bundesliga. The team made it into the UEFA Cup back in 1999 , after which they qualified five times for the UI Cup . In the fall of 2004, the team became the Bundesliga leaders for the first time. In 2006, 2007 and 2011, however, you could only finish the season as 15th and only just avoid relegation.

The Magath era

On May 30, 2007 it was announced that Felix Magath will be the new trainer, manager and managing director at the Wölfen from June 15. His area of ​​responsibility also included looking after the youngsters as well as the rest of the sporting area. He was given a free hand, which he used consistently at the beginning of the 2007/08 season . The personnel carousel turned a lot and the well-known departures (including Kevin Hofland , Diego Klimowicz , Mike Hanke ) faced many newcomers. In addition to experienced players such as Ricardo Costa , Josué and Grafite , young players such as Marcel Schäfer , Jan Šimůnek , Sascha Riether , Christian Gentner and Ashkan Dejagah , who quickly integrated into the team structure and became regular players. Long-time goalkeeper Simon Jentzsch was replaced by the young Diego Benaglio in winter . To everyone's surprise, a UEFA Cup place was achieved at the end of the season. The team secured the necessary 5th place in the table on the last matchday with a 4-2 win at Borussia Dortmund . In addition, they reached the semi-finals in the DFB Cup in 2007 and 2008 ; there they failed against VfB Stuttgart (0: 1) and at Bayern Munich (0: 2).

In order to further upgrade the squad, Magath tried in summer 2008, as in the previous year, to secure the services of experienced and developing players. With Andrea Barzagli and Cristian Zaccardo , he signed two Italian world champions from 2006, which should give the defense greater stability. In addition, the Turkish junior selection player Mahir Sağlık and the German striker Alexander Esswein came to the VW city.

In the first round of the UEFA Cup, the team faced Rapid Bucharest . The first leg was won 1-0 by a goal from Grafite, the second leg in Bucharest ended 1-1. Now VfL faced AC Milan , SC Heerenveen , Sporting Braga and FC Portsmouth from England in Group E ; he managed to close the group first with a 2-2 draw against Milan. In the sixteenth finals they were eliminated against Paris Saint-Germain .

The greatest sporting success was winning the German championship in the 2008/09 season . In addition to coach Magath, the two strikers Grafite and Edin Džeko , who together scored 54 of the total of 80 Wolfsburg goals, and Zvjezdan Misimović , who became the best preparer in Bundesliga history with 22 assists, played a decisive role . With the 54 goals (this corresponds to a rate of 68%) the previous record of the duo Gerd Müller and Uli Hoeneß from the season 1971/72 was exceeded. Grafite was also the top scorer with 28 goals . VfL Wolfsburg was the twelfth champion in Bundesliga history and the first new title holder since 1970 to be immortalized on the championship trophy. In addition, VfL was the first Lower Saxony champions since Eintracht Braunschweig in 1967 .

Last-minute rescues and short-term return to the top group (since 2009)

At the end of June 2009, Magath surprisingly terminated his contract with Wolfsburg and moved to FC Schalke 04 . His successor was Armin Veh , who initially not only worked as a trainer, but also - like Magath before - as a sports director and managing director in personal union. In January 2010, Dieter Hoeneß was hired as a manager to relieve Veh in this area of ​​responsibility. At the end of January 2010, after nine competitive games without a win and most recently a 3-2 defeat against 1. FC Köln, Armin Veh was on leave. He was replaced by Lorenz-Günther Köstner , who until further notice took over the duties of head coach of the first team at VfL Wolfsburg.

For the 2010/11 season , after a long search for a coach, the former England coach, Steve McClaren , was committed. VfL Wolfsburg was the first Bundesliga club to hire an English coach. He had won the championship in the Netherlands last year with FC Twente . The former professional soccer player and world champion from 1990, Pierre Littbarski , was hired as assistant coach . On February 7, 2011, however, McClaren was dismissed for unsuccessfulness and Littbarski took over the post of head coach.

On March 18, 2011, the return of Felix Magath as coach and managing director Sport was finally announced, who took over the "Wolves" in the middle of the relegation battle and was able to keep the class with a 3-1 win in Hoffenheim on the last day of the 2010/11 season .

On October 25, 2012, Magath was relieved of his duties prematurely - after eight match days of the 2012/13 season , the team was in last place; she had only scored two goals by then. Again, the previous amateur coach Lorenz-Günther Köstner initially looked after VfL. The first game under his direction was a 4-1 win against Fortuna Düsseldorf . On December 22nd, 2012 the previous head coach of 1. FC Nürnberg , Dieter Hecking , was hired as head coach for the first team by managing director Klaus Allofs from Bremen . He received a contract until 2016.

In 2014 they qualified again for the Europa League after five years . In January 2015, VfL Wolfsburg signed André Schürrle from Chelsea , who was VfL's most expensive purchase until then. In the Europa League, VfL reached the quarter-finals, in which they were eliminated against SSC Napoli . The Bundesliga season ended as runner-up, which meant that VfL took part in the 2015/16 UEFA Champions League .

VfL players at the reception on May 31, 2015 in Wolfsburg

On May 30, 2015, VfL Wolfsburg won the 72nd DFB Cup final with a 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund . It was VfL's first DFB Cup victory. On August 1, 2015, they won the DFL Supercup against FC Bayern Munich .

In August 2015, German Footballer of the Year Kevin De Bruyne moved to Manchester City for a record Bundesliga sum of around 75 million euros . In the Champions League , VfL won the group ahead of PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United and ZSKA Moscow and then prevailed against KAA Gent in the round of 16. On April 6, 2016 VfL Wolfsburg won the first leg of the quarter-finals 2-0 over Real Madrid . However, the second leg was lost 3-0, so they were eliminated. The Bundesliga season ended Wolfsburg in eighth place in the table and thus missed the renewed qualification for the European Cup.

On the last matchday of the 2016/17 season , VfL slipped from 15th to 16th place in the table after losing the last Bundesliga game against the then 16th, Hamburger SV . VfL had to go into relegation , in which they prevailed 1-0 in the home game and in the away game against local rivals Eintracht Braunschweig and managed to stay up . On September 18, 2017, the head coach Andries Jonker was separated and Martin Schmidt was introduced as the new coach . On February 19, 2018, Martin Schmidt resigned with immediate effect and Bruno Labbadia took over as coach. Sports director Olaf Rebbe was fired at the end of April 2018. With a 4-1 win against 1. FC Köln , Wolfsburg secured participation in the relegation on the last matchday of the season , in which, as in the previous year, they were relegated with two wins (3-1, 1-0) against Holstein Kiel .

On June 1, 2018, Jörg Schmadtke was hired as the new Sport Director. Marcel Schäfer became the new sports director under him . In the summer of 2018, Daniel Didavi, a regular player, left the club when he joined VfB Stuttgart . Meanwhile, Daniel Ginczek was signed by the Swabians . Also the Dutchman Wout Weghorst from AZ , who was the most accurate shooter with 17 goals, and Jerome Roussillon from HSC Montpellier joined VfL. The season began with a 1-0 win in the first round of the DFB Cup at SV Elversberg . VfL Wolfsburg started in the Bundesliga with a 2-1 win over runner-up Schalke , before only having two wins in ten games and thus slipping to eleventh place. At the end of the first half of the season, VfL occupied fifth place in the table. With six defeats and three draws in eight wins, the Wolfsburg-based company finished sixth in the table at the end of the 2018/19 season and thus qualified for the group stage of the UEFA Europa League under coach Labbadia after last year's rescue through relegation .

Despite the success, the paths of VfL and the coach went their separate ways, as Labbadia did not want to extend his expiring contract. As a successor for the season 2019/20 was Oliver Glasner obliged the last year with the Linzer ASK won the Austrian runner. Glasner signed a contract until 2022. Under him, too, the Wolfsburg team played for the international places throughout the season; in the end, VfL reached seventh place, which enables him to participate in the second qualifying round of the Europa League .

VfL Wolfsburg Football GmbH

The VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH was founded on 16 January 2001 and has since been under registration number HRB 100486 at the District Court of Braunschweig entered. The licensed player department of VfL Wolfsburg e. V. was spun off into the company on May 23, 2001. At first 90 percent of the shares were held by Volkswagen AG and 10 percent by e. V. held. This was made possible by an exception to the 50 + 1 rule , which allows a commercial enterprise to take over the majority if it has continuously and significantly promoted the football sport of the parent club for more than 20 years. Otherwise, a maximum participation of 50 percent less one vote is possible, as the club must retain the majority of votes in its outsourced football department. In addition to VfL Wolfsburg, this exemption is applied to Bayer 04 Leverkusen and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim . On December 20, 2007, Volkswagen AG became the sole shareholder.

Volkswagen AG holds its shares through Volkswagen Group Services GmbH and, in accordance with Section 264 HGB, does not publish the annual financial statements of VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH.

The GmbH is run by the management. Current managing directors are Michael Meeske, Jörg Schmadtke and Tim Schumacher.

The highest decision-making body is the shareholders' meeting . It elects the nine- member supervisory board , whose chairman is Frank Witter , CFO of Volkswagen AG.

Sponsors

Volkswagen AG has been the main sponsor since 1952 . The company paid EUR 62.5 million for the 2008/09 season and EUR 67.5 million for the 2009/10 season. In the first half of the 2008/09 season, VfL appeared without the VW logo on their chest; he supported the picture campaign Ein Herz für Kinder , whose logo was worn on the jersey free of charge. The Veltins brewery has been an official premium partner since the 2013/14 season . The collaboration was initially designed for three years.

In October 2014, Volkswagen AG had to pay a fine of two million euros because a service contract with T-Systems for the maintenance of computer systems was only extended after T-Systems had announced the extension of a sponsorship contract with VfL Wolfsburg. One million had to be paid because of the criminal pandemic between Volkswagen AG and VfL Wolfsburg and one million because board member Garcia Sanz had, contrary to his duty, taken no precautions against such crimes.

Stages

The old VfL stadium

Arena in the evening sun

The team celebrates its first league lead on September 18, 2004

Volkswagen Arena

See also : Volkswagen Arena

• Capacity: 30,000 spectators (for international games: 26,000 spectators)
• Venue of concerts, e.g. B. by Herbert Grönemeyer , Elton John or Anastacia
• Inauguration December 2002

AOK stadium

See also : AOK Stadium

• Capacity: 5,200 spectators (1,700 seats and 3,500 standing places)
• Opening on January 23, 2015
• The new venue replaces the VfL stadium on Elsterweg for the women's team and the second men's team at VfL Wolfsburg. In addition to the stadium, the new complex also includes the VfL Center and the VfL Football World.

VfL stadium on Elsterweg

See also : VfL Stadium on Elsterweg

• Capacity: 21,600 spectators; 17,600 spectators after dismantling grandstands, of which 12,500 seats
• The main grandstand, which was built from concrete elements in 1961 for 750,000 DM, is a listed building
• Inauguration on October 10, 1947, departure from the stadium on November 23, 2002

successes

title

• German champion (1): 2009
• DFB Cup Winner (1): 2015
• DFL Supercup (1): 2015
• North German amateur champion (1): 1963
• Lower Saxony champion (1): 1963
• Master of the Amateur Oberliga Niedersachsen (East Season) (4): 1951, 1952, 1954, 1963
• Lower Saxony amateur champion (1): 1950

More Achievements

• Lower Saxony's team of the year: 1994, 2015
• German runner-up (1): 2015
• Finalist in the DFB Cup (1): 1995
• Finalist in the DFB Indoor Cup (1): 1999
• German Vice Amateur Champion (1): 1963
• Participation in the UEFA Europa League (formerly UEFA Cup): 1999/2000 , 2008/09 and 2014/15 .
• Participation in the UEFA Champions League : 2009/10 and 2015/16
• UEFA Champions League quarter-finalist (1): 2015/16
• Promotion to the Bundesliga: 1997
• Promotion to the Oberliga Nord: 1954
• Promotion to the 2nd Bundesliga: 1974

European Cup balance sheet

season	competition	round	opponent	total	To	Back
1999/2000	Uefa cup	1 round	Debreceni VSC	3: 2	2: 0 (H)	1: 2 (A)
		2nd round	Roda JC Kerkrade	1-0	0: 0 (A)	1: 0 (H)
		3rd round	Atlético Madrid	3: 5	2: 3 (H)	1: 2 (A)
2008/09	Uefa cup	1 round	Rapid Bucharest	2: 1	1: 0 (H)	1: 1 (A)
		Group stage	SC Heerenveen	5: 1	5: 1 (H)
			Sporting Braga	3: 2	3: 2 (A)
			Portsmouth FC	3: 2	3: 2 (H)
			AC Milan	3: 3	3: 3 (A)
		Round of 16	Paris Saint-Germain	1: 5	0: 2 (A)	1: 3 (H)
2009/10	UEFA Champions League	Group stage	CSKA Moscow	4: 3	3: 1 (H)	1: 2 (A)
			Manchester United	2: 5	1: 2 (A)	1: 3 (H)
			Beşiktaş Istanbul	3-0	0: 0 (H)	3: 0 (A)
2009/10	UEFA Europa League	Round of 16	Villarreal CF	6: 3	2: 2 (A)	4: 1 (H)
		Round of 16	Rubin Kazan	3: 2	1: 1 (A)	2: 1 a.d. (H)
		Quarter finals	Fulham FC	1: 3	1: 2 (A)	0: 1 (H)
2014/15	UEFA Europa League	Group stage	Everton FC	1: 6	1: 4 (A)	0: 2 (H)
			Lille OSC	4: 1	1: 1 (H)	3: 0 (A)
			FK Krasnodar	9: 3	4: 2 (A)	5: 1 (H)
		Round of 16	Sporting Lisbon	2-0	2: 0 (H)	0: 0 (A)
		Round of 16	Inter Milan	5: 2	3: 1 (H)	2: 1 (A)
		Quarter finals	SSC Naples	3: 6	1: 4 (H)	2: 2 (A)
2015/16	UEFA Champions League	Group stage	CSKA Moscow	3-0	1: 0 (H)	2: 0 (A)
			Manchester United	4: 4	1: 2 (A)	3: 2 (H)
			PSV Eindhoven	2: 2	2: 0 (H)	0: 2 (A)
		Round of 16	KAA Gent	4: 2	3: 2 (A)	1: 0 (H)
		Quarter finals	real Madrid	2: 3	2: 0 (H)	0: 3 (A)
2019/20	UEFA Europa League	Group stage	FK Oleksandrija	4: 1	3: 1 (H)	1: 0 (A)
			AS Saint-Etienne	2: 1	1: 1 (A)	1: 0 (H)
			KAA Gent	3: 5	2: 2 (A)	1: 3 (H)
		Round of 16	Malmö FF	5: 1	2: 1 (H)	3: 0 (A)
		Round of 16	Shakhtar Donetsk	1: 5	1: 2 (H)	0: 3 (A)

Legend: (H) - home game, (A) - away game, (N) - neutral place, (a) - away goal rule , (i. E.) - on penalties , (n. V.) - after extra time

Overall record : 58 games, 27 wins, 11 draws, 20 defeats, 96:80 goals (goal difference +16)

Records

Status: end of season 2018/19, only Bundesliga

The highest victories

Home games 8: 1 against FC Augsburg 2018/19 7-1 against Borussia Mönchengladbach in 1998/99 6-0 against 1. FC Köln 2000/01 6-0 against Werder Bremen 2015/16 6: 1 against SpVgg Unterhaching 2000/01 5-0 against 1. FC Nürnberg 2001/02 5-0 against Arminia Bielefeld 2004/05

Away games 5-0 against Hannover 96 in 2008/09 4-0 against 1. FC Köln 2001/02 4-0 against Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2009/10 4-0 against VfB Stuttgart 2014/15 4-0 against Hannover 96 2015/16

The greatest defeats

Home games 0: 6 against FC Bayern Munich 2016/17 2: 7 against Werder Bremen in 1999/2000 1: 6 against FC Bayern Munich 2013/14 1: 5 against VfB Stuttgart 2003/04 1: 5 against Hertha BSC in 2009/10 1: 5 against Borussia Dortmund 2016/17 0: 4 against Hannover 96 2012/13

Away games 0: 6 against FC Bayern Munich 2018/19 1: 6 against MSV Duisburg 1998/99 1: 6 against Werder Bremen in 2005/06 0: 5 against FC Bayern Munich 1999/2000 0: 5 against FC Bayern Munich 2016/17

Record player

• As of June 26, 2020

Appearances (Bundesliga) Diego Benaglio (259) Marcel Schäfer (256) Maximilian Arnold (220) Robin Knoche (182) Miroslav Karhan (173) Alexander Madlung (166) Josué (164) Claus Reitmaier (163) Patrick Weiser (159) Diego Klimowicz (149)

Goals (Bundesliga) Edin Džeko (66) Graphite (59) Diego Klimowicz (57) Andrzej Juskowiak (40) Bas Dost (36) Wout Weghorst (33) Tomislav Marić (31) Ivica Olić (28)  Martin Petrov (28) Maximilian Arnold (27)

( bold = currently playing at VfL Wolfsburg)

The first team

Squad 2020/21

As of August 25, 2020

The team's captain is Josuha Guilavogui. His deputy is Koen Casteels.

No.	Nat.	Surname	birthday	at VfL since	Contract until
goal
01		Koen Casteels	June 25, 1992	2015	2024
12		Pavao Pervan	November 13, 1987	2018	2021
30th		Niklas Klinger	October 13, 1995	2003	2021
35		Lino box	January 17, 2001		2022
Defense
02		William	April 3, 1995	2017	2022
03		Maxence Lacroix	April 6, 2000	2020	2024
05		Jeffrey Bruma	November 13, 1991	2016	2021
06th		Paulo Otávio	November 23, 1994	2019	2023
15th		Jérôme Roussillon	January 6, 1993	2018	2023
19th		Kevin Mbabu	April 19, 1995	2019	2023
25th		John Anthony Brooks	January 28, 1993	2017	2022
32		Marcel Tisserand	January 10, 1993	2017	2022
34		Marin Pongračić	September 11, 1997	2020	2024
midfield
04th		Ignacio Camacho	May 4th 1990	2017	2021
07th		Josip Brekalo	June 23, 1998	2016	2021
08th		Renato Steffen	3rd November 1991	2018	2021
10		Yunus Malli	February 24, 1992	2017	2021
11		Felix Klaus	September 13, 1992	2018	2022
14th		Admir Mehmedi	March 16, 1991	2018	2022
23		Josuha Guilavogui	September 19, 1990	2014	2023
24		Xaver Schlager	September 28, 1997	2019	2023
27		Maximilian Arnold	May 27, 1994	2009	2022
31		Yannick Gerhardt	March 13, 1994	2016	2021
40		João Victor	March 27, 1994	2019	2023
Storm
09		Wout Weghorst	August 7, 1992	2018	2023
17th		John Yeboah	June 23, 2000	2015	2021
21st		Bartosz Białek	November 11, 2001	2020	2024
29		Omar Marmoush	February 7, 1999	2017	2023
33		Daniel Ginczek	April 13, 1991	2018	2022

• under contract, but not in the squad: Dominik Franke

Transfers of the 2020/21 season

Accesses
time	player	Transferring club
Summer break	Bartosz Białek	Zagłębie Lubin
	Jeffrey Bruma	1. FSV Mainz 05 (loanee)
	Dominik Franke	SV Wehen Wiesbaden (loanee)
	Maxence Lacroix	FC Sochaux
	Yunus Malli	1. FC Union Berlin (loanee)
	John Yeboah	VVV-Venlo (loanee)

Departures
time	player	Receiving club
Summer break	Ismail Azzaoui	End of contract; destination unknown
	Mamoudou Karamoko	LASK
	Robin Knoche	1. FC Union Berlin
	Phillip Menzel	SK Austria Klagenfurt

^*Due to the postponement of the end of the 2019/20 season and the start of the 2020/21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the DFB, together with the DFL and in consultation with FIFA, adjusted the summer transfer period (generally July 1 to August 31). The transfer window was on July 1 (changeover period I.1) and is open from July 15 to October 5, 2020 (changeover period I.2). The first, one-day phase was intended in particular for the registration of contracts that had already been concluded from July 1st.

Coaching staff

Oliver Glasner has been the head coach of the professionals since June 30, 2019

Surname	function	nationality	birthday	at VfL since
Trainers and supervisors
Oliver Glasner	Head coach		August 28, 1974	2019
Michael Angerschmid	Assistant coach		February 24, 1974	2019
Thomas Sageder	Assistant coach		5th September 1983	2019
Pascal Formann	Goalkeeping coach		November 16, 1982	2013
Michael Berktold	Athletic trainer		September 30, 1980	2019

All coaches since 1963

• Ludwig Lachner (July 1, 1963 to June 30, 1966)
• Imre Farkaszinski (July 1, 1966 to January 16, 1975) ^{1 2}
• Fritz Schollmeyer (January 17, 1975 to April 23, 1975)
• Günther Brockmeyer (April 24, 1975 to April 28, 1975)
• Paul Kietzmann (April 29, 1975 to November 28, 1975)
• Radoslav Momirski (December 2, 1976 to March 4, 1978)
• Imre Farkaszinski (March 5, 1978 to December 2, 1978) ³
• Henk van Meteren (December 4, 1978 to April 29, 1979)
• Wilfried Kemmer (April 30, 1979 to October 20, 1983)
• Imre Farkaszinski (October 22, 1983 to June 30, 1984) ⁴
• Wolf-Rüdiger Krause (July 1, 1984 to June 30, 1988), legendary cup game against Bremen: 4-5 after extra time, 1987/88
• Horst Hrubesch (July 1, 1988 to June 30, 1989)
• Ernst Menzel (July 1, 1989 to June 30, 1991)
• Uwe Erkenbrecher (July 1, 1991 to February 8, 1993)
• Dieter Winter (February 9, 1993 to February 15, 1993)
• Eckhard Krautzun (February 16, 1993 to April 5, 1995)
• Gerd Roggensack (April 6, 1995 to October 22, 1995), DFB Cup final 1995
• Willi Reimann (October 23, 1995 to March 15, 1998), promoted to the Bundesliga in 1997
• Uwe Erkenbrecher (March 18, 1998 to March 22, 1998) ²
• Wolfgang Wolf (March 23, 1998 to March 4, 2003), relegation 1997/98, UEFA Cup participation 1999/2000
• Jürgen Röber (March 4, 2003 to April 4, 2004)
• Eric Gerets (April 4, 2004 to May 28, 2005), Bundesliga leaders for the first time in 2004/05
• Holger Fach (July 1, 2005 to December 19, 2005)
• Klaus Augenthaler (December 29, 2005 to May 19, 2007), relegation 2005/06 and 2006/07
• Felix Magath (June 15, 2007 to June 30, 2009), participation in the UEFA Cup 2008/09, German champion 2008/09
• Armin Veh (July 1, 2009 to January 25, 2010), UEFA Champions League 2009/10
• Lorenz-Günther Köstner (January 25, 2010 to June 30, 2010)
• Steve McClaren (July 1, 2010 to February 7, 2011)
• Pierre Littbarski (February 7, 2011 to March 18, 2011)
• Felix Magath (March 18, 2011 to October 25, 2012) ² , relegation 2010/11
• Lorenz-Günther Köstner (October 25, 2012 to December 31, 2012) ²
• Dieter Hecking (January 1, 2013 to October 17, 2016); UEFA Europa League 2014/15, UEFA Champions League 2015/16, DFB Cup victory 2015, DFL Supercup 2015
• Valérien Ismaël (October 18, 2016 to February 26, 2017)
• Andries Jonker (February 27, 2017 to September 18, 2017)
• Martin Schmidt (September 18, 2017 to February 19, 2018)
• Bruno Labbadia (February 20, 2018 to May 25, 2019)
• Oliver Glasner (since June 30, 2019)

¹ Farkaszinski was already coach of VfL Wolfsburg in the 1958/59 season

² 2. Term of office

³ 3. Term of office

^4th 4. Term of office

Derbies

In the media, games between Wolfsburg and Hannover 96 and Eintracht Braunschweig are considered derbies. The fan scenes of the clubs from Braunschweig and Hanover contradict this point of view and see the games against each other as the real Lower Saxony derbies.

Others

Krzysztof Nowak

• VfL Wolfsburg supports the Krzysztof Nowak Foundation, which was founded in 2002 by the player Krzysztof Nowak , "the number 10 of hearts". From the end of 2000 Nowak suffered from the incurable disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and died in 2005 at the age of 29.
• On January 10, 2015, the only 20-year-old player Junior Malanda died in a car accident on the A 2 on the way to the flight to the winter training camp in South Africa.
• The official anthem of VfL is Grün-Weiß VfL.
• After goals from VfL, an excerpt from the song Rama Lama Ding Dong by Rocky Sharpe And The Replays is played.
• Invasion music is the song Sirius from The Alan Parsons Project .
• Since the first ascent in 1997, VfL Wolfsburg heard continuously in the Bundesliga on and next to the FC Bayern München , Bayer 04 Leverkusen , the TSG 1899 Hoffenheim the FC Augsburg and RB Leipzig to the six teams that never had a relegation from the 1. Bundesliga had to accept.
• VfL was top of the Bundesliga 22 times (as of May 12, 2018).
• Eternal table of the Bundesliga : 17th place with 1,040 points
• VfL Wolfsburg has over 130 fan clubs.
• The mascot of the "wolves" is called Wölfi.
• On February 23, 2000, Zoltan Sebescen was the first Wolfsburg player to play a game for the German national team.
• Julian Draxler (~ 37 million euros), André Schürrle (~ 30 million euros), Kevin De Bruyne (~ 20 million euros), Luiz Gustavo (~ 17 million euros) and Diego (~ 15.5 million euros) are among the most expensive Newcomers from VfL Wolfsburg.
• The most expensive departures were Kevin De Bruyne and Edin Džeko , who moved to Manchester City for around € 75 million and € 37 million respectively . Julian Draxler moved to Paris Saint-Germain for around 45 million euros , André Schürrle for around 32 million euros to BVB .
• In 2015 Kevin De Bruyne was voted German Footballer of the Year .
• In 2015 Dieter Hecking was Germany's football coach of the year .
• In 2015, both the men's and women's teams won the DFB Cup in their respective competitions.
• A partnership with the US soccer club Chattanooga FC has existed since January 2017. This plays in the fourth-rate National Premier Soccer League .

The second team (U23)

VfL Wolfsburg II
Surname	VfL Wolfsburg II
Venue	AOK stadium
Places	5,200
Head coach	Rüdiger Ziehl
league	Regionalliga North
2019/20	2nd place

history

The amateurs of VfL Wolfsburg have been playing in the fourth-class Regionalliga Nord since the 2011/12 season . Until the end of 2014, their venue was the VfL Stadium on Elsterweg ; The team has been based in the newly built AOK Stadium since 2015 .

The amateurs became champions in the Regionalliga Nord in the 2013/14 season and played against SG Sonnenhof Großaspach in relegation for promotion to the 3rd division. While the first leg in Großaspach ended goalless, VfL lost 1-0 in the second leg and missed promotion. In 2016 VfL, as champions of the Regionalliga Nord, again missed promotion to the 3rd division when they had to admit defeat to SSV Jahn Regensburg in the relegation . In 2019, the amateurs were again champions of the Regionalliga Nord and failed in the promotion games at FC Bayern Munich II .

Squad 2020/21

As of August 4, 2020

goal	Defense	midfield	attack
1 Tobias Stirl 2000 12 Sebastian Mellack 2001 28 Niclas Müller 2001	02 Davide Itter 1999 04th Julian Klamt 1989 05 Jannis Heuer 1999 06th Tim Siersleben 2000 13 Jannis Lang 2002 15th Michael Edwards 2000 16 Marcel Beifus 2002 17th Shako W'Okitasombo 2000 25th Dominik Franke 1998	07th Ole Pohlmann 2001 08th Dominik Marx 2000 10 Julian Justvan 1998 11 Luca Horn 1998 14th Soufiane Messeguem 2001 16 Iba May 1998 18th Tom-Kasper Berger 1998 20th Bryang Kayo 2002 21st Zakaria Hamadi 1998 23 Michele Rizzi 1988 27 Leon summer 2001 39 Samuel Abifade 1999 Ulysses Llanez 2001 John Yeboah 1 2000	09 Charles-Isaiah Herrmann 2000 19th John Iredale 1999 22nd Amir Abdijanovic 2001

¹ also in the first team squad

successes

• Champion in the Regionalliga Nord 2014 , 2016 , 2019
• In the first round of the 2001/02 DFB Cup , the VfL amateur team defeated the eventual German champions Borussia Dortmund 1-0, but were eliminated 4-0 in the second round against Hannover 96 .

Youth football

Both the A and B youth teams as well as the other junior teams play very successfully in the respective national ( A-Junioren-Bundesliga , B-Junioren-Bundesliga ) and regional leagues . The A-youth team reached the final of the German championship in the 2007/08 season , which was lost 2-0 to SC Freiburg . At the end of the 2010/11 season they won the final against 1. FC Kaiserslautern 4-2 and became German champions. In April 2013, the U19 managed a title hat trick with the third championship in the Bundesliga North / Northeast in a row.

Successes of the junior teams

• German A-Junior Champion 2010/11 , 2012/13
• German A-Junior runner-up 2007/08
• A-junior champions of the Bundesliga North / Northeast 2007/08, 2010/11, 2011/12 , 2012/13
• Regional league champions North A-Juniors 2002/03
• Regional league champions North B-Juniors 2003/04, 2004/05, 2005/06

"Young Talent Center"

Young football talents are given the opportunity to be trained in the U8 to U23 performance range with the “Young Talent Center” (NLZ) at VfL Wolfsburg, which was built in 2008 and is one of the most modern sports facilities in Germany. The teams of the boarding school are supported by former Bundesliga players such as B. Matthias Stammann (U15) trains. The head of the youth department is Fabian Wohlgemuth.

VfL football school

In addition to the training camps in the Easter, summer and autumn holidays, the VfL Football School has been organizing many other events (adventure game days, special training, football school cup and much more) since the beginning of 2010 to teach children the basics of football and important values ​​such as team spirit and fairness. The school is headed by Roy Präger , who is supported by Frank Greiner , among others .

Women's soccer

→ Main article : VfL Wolfsburg (women's football)

Ex-national player Martina Müller

On July 1, 2003, VfL Wolfsburg took over the women's football department of WSV Wendschott . In the 2010/11 season the department comprises three women's and two girls' teams. The first women's team has played in the Bundesliga since its last promotion in 2006 and won the German soccer championship, the DFB Cup and the UEFA Women's Champions League in 2013 . One season later (2013/14), VfL became the first German team to defend their Champions League title.

The department goes back to the women's soccer department of VfR Eintracht Wolfsburg founded in 1973 . It was under this name that the final of the DFB Cup was reached in 1984 . In 1990 VfR Eintracht was one of the founding members of the Bundesliga. When VfR Eintracht faced bankruptcy in 1996 , the department switched to WSV Wendschott, before switching to VfL in 2003.

VfL and its predecessor clubs provided several German national players such as today's manager of the national team, Doris Fitschen , the world champions Stefanie Gottschlich and Martina Müller and the European champions Britta Carlson and Petra Damm .

VfL Wolfsburg eSport

VfL Wolfsburg became the first Bundesliga club to have an e-sports department since May 2015 ; With the game FIFA , the club takes part in various competitive tournaments and leagues.

For VfL Wolfsburg, this is not the first contact with the gaming scene. In November 2013, a virtual Bundesliga (VBL) tournament was held in the Volkswagen Arena together with EA SPORTS .

The current line-up of the FIFA team consists of:

Nat.	Surname	position	since
	Benedikt "Salz0r" Saltzer	E-athletes	2015
	Benedikt "BeneCR7x" Bauer	E-athletes	2018
	Dylan "DullenMIKE" Neuhausen	E-athletes	2019
	Riad “itsRiaad” Fazlija	E-Academy	2018

Web links

Commons : VfL Wolfsburg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website of VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH

Individual evidence

1. ↑ kicker.de : The 50 + 1 rule remains, "Lex Leverkusen" does not . Retrieved October 9, 2019.
2. ^ ARD sports show on October 25, 2012 ( Memento from November 27, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
3. ↑ Lorenz-Günther Köstner transforms Wolfsburg. In: sz.de . October 27, 2012, accessed October 9, 2019 . 
4. ↑ Giving presents - Hecking takes over VfL. In: kicket. December 22, 2012, accessed October 9, 2019 . 
5. ↑ Champions League: 2-0 - Wolfsburg shocked Real Madrid. In: Spiegel Online. April 7, 2016, accessed October 9, 2019 . 
6. ↑ Andreas Evelt: Braunschweig's defeat in the relegation: Not enough class. In: Spiegel Online. May 30, 2017. Retrieved October 9, 2019 . 
7. ↑ Andries Jonker is no longer head coach of VfL Wolfsburg. In: vfl-wolfsburg.de. VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH, September 18, 2017, accessed on October 9, 2019 . 
8. ↑ Martin Schmidt becomes head coach. In: vfl-wolfsburg.de. VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH, September 18, 2017, accessed on October 9, 2019 . 
9. ↑ VfL Wolfsburg separates from sports director Rebbe ( Memento from June 13, 2018 in the Internet Archive )
10. ↑ Previous assumption of office. In: vfl-wolfsburg.de. VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH, June 1, 2018, accessed on June 1, 2018 . 
11. ↑ Early return. In: vfl-wolfsburg.de. VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH, June 13, 2018, accessed on June 13, 2018 . 
12. ↑ Jan Christian Müller: The black box is attacking. In: fr-online.de. January 15, 2015, accessed October 9, 2019 . 
13. ↑ Management. In: vfl-wolfsburg.de. VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH, accessed on October 9, 2019 . 
14. ↑ Supervisory Board. In: vfl-wolfsburg.de. VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH, accessed on October 9, 2019 . 
15. ↑ Claudio Catuogno, Klaus Ott: The questionable VW system. In: sz.de. July 30, 2011, accessed October 9, 2019 . 
16. ↑ Veltins is now also scoring points at VfL Wolfsburg. In: derwesten.de. February 6, 2013, accessed October 9, 2019 . 
17. ↑ Klaus Ott: Volkswagen has to pay a fine of millions. In: sz.de. October 6, 2014, accessed October 9, 2019 . 
18. ↑ VfL Stadium on Elsterweg ( Memento from August 22, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
19. ↑ Record player , transfermarkt.de
20. ↑ Squad. In: vfl-wolfsburg.de. VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH, accessed on August 5, 2020 . 
21. ↑ @VfL_Wolfsburg: Labbadia: @JossGuilavogui is the new captain. His first deputy is @koencasteels, the second is Robin Knoche. #SVEWOB. In: twitter.com. Retrieved October 9, 2019 . 
22. ↑ Two changeover periods in summer - the first only lasts one day , kicker.de, June 29, 2020, accessed on June 29, 2020.
23. ↑ Wolves start on June 30th. In: vfl-wolfsburg.de. VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH, May 28, 2019, accessed on May 28, 2019 . 
24. ↑ Hartmut Bick: Hannover 96 celebrates a happy derby win against Wolfsburg. November 9, 2018, accessed December 14, 2018 . 
25. ^ Frank Hellmann: Derby: Wolfsburg and Braunschweig in the relegation. In: Badische Zeitung. Badischer Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, May 24, 2017, accessed on October 9, 2019 . 
26. ↑ Linked in deep dislike. April 4, 2014, accessed December 14, 2018 . 
27. ↑ Read out text Help for people with ALS ( Memento from November 10, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
28. ↑ Hymn of VfL Wolfsburg ( Memento from April 21, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
29. ↑ Eternal table of the Bundesliga. In: fussballdaten.de. Retrieved October 9, 2019 . 
30. ↑ The official fan clubs of VfL Wolfsburg. In: vfl-wolfsburg.de. VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH, accessed on November 19, 2019 . 
31. ↑ VfL Wolfsburg cooperates with Chattanooga FC. In: regionalwolfsburg.de. Medien für die Region GmbH, January 10, 2017, accessed on October 9, 2019 . 
32. ^ AOK Stadium. VfL Wolfsburg, accessed on June 15, 2014 . 
33. ↑ Squad U23. In: vfl-wolfsburg.de. VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH, accessed on August 4, 2020 . 
34. ↑ U19 manages title hat trick ( Memento from October 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
35. ↑ Frank Greiner is back at VfL. In: Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung . April 14, 2014, accessed October 9, 2019 . 
36. ↑ VfL Wolfsburg is involved in e-sports. In: vfl-wolfsburg.de. VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH, 2016, accessed on December 16, 2017 . 
37. ↑ VfL Wolfsburg is involved in e-sports. In: vfl-wolfsburg.de. VfL Wolfsburg-Fußball GmbH, 2016, accessed on December 16, 2017 .