06/07/05
Season review part I
- Brdaric: Double whammy in Dortmund!
On June 25th 2004, the Wolves squad prepared fort he new season for the first time under the watchful eye of the new coach Erik Gerets from Belgian, who made clear what his goals for the new season were going to be: "My goal is to acquire more points than last season." The previous season saw the Wolves finish 10th in the Bundesliga table on 42 points. To make sure that things would be better this time around, the club signed Kevin Hofland from PSV Eindhoven and the Argentinean Facundo Quiroga from Sporting Lisbon to shore up the Wolfsburg defence.
Goal machine...
Thomas Brdaric, who was a real goal machine for Hanover, joined the Wolves with a big reputation. Marian Hristov was also signed to relieve the workload of Andres D'Alessandro in midfield. Two further players were signed as well: Oscar Ahumada from River Plates and goalkeeper André Lenz from 1860 Munich: "All in all, we have signed a good bunch of players which should increase the battle for first team places, which is important for the team," said the new Wolves coach.
Early intertoto Cup exit
The dress rehearsal for the new Bundesliga season was a disaster as the Wolves lost both legs to the little known Swiss side FC Thun, in the 2nd round of the Intertoto Cup. The Wolves could now concentrate on getting their act together for the start of the new Bundesliga season…
Perfect start to Bundesliga season!
- Peter Pander: Resignation
Despite the shock of exiting the Intertoto Cup at the second round stage, the Wolves had a perfect start to their Bundesliga season, as they won 2-1 in the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund! Both Wolves goals were scored by new sin´gning Thomas Brdaric: "We couldn’t have wished for a better start," beamed the Wolves coach Erik Gerets. The three points were no the only thing to put a smile onto the Belgian’s face…The fact that Thomas Rytter, Hofland, Quiroga and Patrick Weiser, all played well in Dortmund.
Turbulent times
The Wolves planned to make it two wins in a row as Freiburg visited the VOLKSWAGEN ARENA in round 2 of the Bundesliga. But it wasn’t to be. The following fortnight turned out to bet wo of the most turbulant weeks ever seen in Wolfsburg. On Agust 22nd, thre Wolves beat Cologn’s amateur side 3-0 in the first round of the German FA Cup. The victory was hovever declared null and void by the football authorities after it was revealed that Marian Hristov, who should have been serving a red card suspension picked up the previous season while playing fro Kaiserslautern, played agaiunst Cologne while he was ineligible. Cologne was awarded the match 2-0 and the Wolves exited their second cup competion of the season at the early stages.
Pander resigns
As the Wolves manager Peter Pander heard the news that Cologne had won their appeal, he was understandably shocked: "I am sorry that a mistake has been made. I feel sorry for the team and coach. I accept full responsibility for the mistake," said Pander. Two days later on August 24th, Pander resigned his post at the club, deciding to take the honourable way out for the FA Cup boob. An era spanning a decade came to an end with Pander’s resignation. Ironically Hristov, the player who all the fuss was about, sustained an injury so serious, that he required surgery and was out of first team action for 9 weeks.
- D'Alessandro: Olympic gold!
Golden boy D'Alessandro
There was fabulous news coming from Athens, as it was announced that Argentina and the Wolves playmaker D'Alessandro, had beaten Paraguay 1-0 in the final of the Olympic Games final to win gold. It was the first-ever Olympic gold for the South American side.
"I can feel the tears welling up as I think about the gold medal. It is the greatest achievement in my life," said the little midfielder, as he tried to describe his feelings after the event. Immediately after winning gold, the Argentineans jetted off to South America, because on September 4th, they had a crucial World Cup qualifier on their agenda against Peru, which the “Gauchos” won 3-1.
Maximum points in Bremen!
The club hoped that the success of D’Alessandro would rub off on his team mates back in Wolfsburg. A day after the victory in Athens, the Wolves had to visit the Weserstadion in Bremen, where they locked horns with the reigning Bundesliga champions Werder, who topped the Bundesliga table after winning their first two games. Bremen was the clear favourite ahead of the visit of Wolfsburg. The Wolves to their credit, were not bothered by the role of the underdog, and convincingly beat Werder 2-1, thanks to goals by Brdaric and Thiam. All of a sudden, the Wolves had accumulated 6 away points…exactly the same amount of away points that they had managed to collect over the whole of the previous season. The win in Bremen blasted the Wolves to the heady heights of fourth place in the Bundesliga table. Now it was up to the Belgian coach Erik Gerets to try to improve his side’s home form…
- Hristov: Brace against Schalke
Hristov bags a brace
The Wolves did just that…and how! In the next match, Wolfsburg sent Schalke home with a 0-3 defeat ringing in their ears. A brace of goals by fit-again Marian Hristov, followed by a Klimowicz strike, brought home the bacon for Gerets and Co. The man of the match however was Andres D’Alessandro, who mesmerised the visitors with a superb display in midfield. The little Argentinean pulled the strings and set up both of the goals scored by Hristov.
- Gerets: So far so good!
On top of the world!
The home win over Schalke moved the Wolves up to second place in the Bundesliga table, just a point behind VfB Stuttgart. Brdaric looked to the future: "The team has the potential to establish itself at the top of the table. The club has made changes which are now paying off," said the German international striker at the time. A week later, the Wolves beat Hansa Rostock 2-1 away, thanks to goals by Klimowicz and Thiam. The Wolves took over top spot in the Bundesliga table for the very first time in their history.
A day later, it was clear that the Wolves would remain on top at least for a week, as Stuttgart could only manage a 0-0 draw away to Hertha: Pablo Thiam: "We want to enjoy the moment and our current position in the table. It is nice to see how far hard work can take you."
If you would like to know how the dream in the golden days of autumn continued, keep on clicking! Part two of our 2004/5 season review will follow shortly!