Reuters Soccer Blog
World Soccer views and news
What now for wondrous Wolfsburg?
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.
Is Wolfsburg’s Magath living in denial?
Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath was asked two weeks ago, after his team won their fifth consecutive league match, whether they could become German champions
“If we win all our 11 remaining fixtures then we can be champions,” he told the reporter with a hint of sarcasm. “But we are not title contenders, let’s make this clear,” he quickly added.
Two weeks later Wolfsburg have extended their winning streak to seven matches, sitting comfortably a point behind league leaders Hertha Berlin.
But even after this weekend’s 3-0 win against Arminia Bielefeld, Magath is still not satisfied.
“This result does not reflect the match,” he said. “We allowed Arminia far too many chances. We did not play well and were lucky to get away with a win.”
It has become a running joke in Germany that even if Wolfsburg win the Bundesliga, Magath will still be complaining afterwards.
I think anyone outside Bavaria would agree with the last post.