What now for wondrous Wolfsburg?

May 20, 2009

Wolfsburg are only 90 minutes away from winning their first German championship and they have equalled or broken several records in achieving that.

No other team have ever had two strikers score 20 goals or more in a Bundesliga season. Grafite has 26, Edin Dzeko 25.

Wolfsburg equalled the longest winning streak in one season in the Bundesliga with 10 consecutive victories after the winter break. They have a near perfect home record, dropping only two points in 16 matches this term.

What can they improve on after such a season?

Coach Felix Magath will not be there next term, having signed with Schalke 04. Grafite has said he will stay on but Dzeko looks unlikely to partner him up front next season with big European clubs including Arsenal rumoured to be eyeing the Bosnian and team mates.

But don’t expect Volkswagen-backed Wolfsburg to be a one-off thing.

Former VfB Stuttgart coach Armin Veh is a leading candidate to succeed Magath. Veh has tasted Bundesliga success with Stuttgart in 2007.

What is even more important though is that Wolfsburg have another three years on the contract of playmaker Zvjezdan Misimovic, the main reason why Grafite and Dzeko have scored so many and why the team are a match away from winning the Bundesliga.

Misimovic, who had a spell at Bayern Munich, has been the driving force of the team, capable of splitting open defences with a vast arsenal of skills and his presence at Wolfsburg will be guarantee for other players to remain.

Car maker Volkswagen has invested heavily in the team under Magath, and with a boost in revenues next season due to Champions League football, it looks set to continue spending.

So for next season, just like in the final match of this campaign, Wolsburg have their fate in their own hands.

PHOTO: VfL Wolfsburg players celebrate following their German Bundesliga soccer match against Hannover 96 in Hanover, May16, 2009, REUTERS/Christian Charisius

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