11/06 2005
Season review part II
- "Klimo" scores, Topic watches: Wolfsburg against Lautern
Wolfsburg – With three wins in a row (in Bremen, against Schalke und in Rostock), VfL Wolfsburg had reached the top of the division. At the end of September they had to defend their position for the first time in the German National League. The Wolves, always a strong team at home, were favored with two home games in a row. On September 25 1. FC Kaiserslautern came to the VOLKSWAGEN ARENA.
This meeting had special significance for coach Erik Gerets. In December of the previous year, the coach was still sitting on the Lauter coaching bench. "Kaiserslautern will always be close to my heart", said Gerets, making no secret of his old love. Not only VfL’s playing schedule, but also the statistics were encouraging: The Wolves had won more matches against Kaiserlautern than against any other team (six wins in seven home matches).
The joy of being on top
Actually, the Wolves did get a "three", though it came just before the end of the game. Match winner Diego Klimowicz ensured the 2-1 victory right before the final whistle. But despite a solid group effort, luck also played a considerable role in their success. Not only the timing of the second goal, but also the way it came about, must have caused at least a few green-and-white players to giggle. Marko Topic, who had been brought in just minutes before, set up the goal unintentionally with his hands. This happenstance was slightly reminiscent of the Bavarians, since both of Wolves’ individual goal kicks led to victory.
A week later the fifth "three" would arrive. Before the two-week National League break, division leaders Wolfsburg hosted tenth place Borussia M'gladbach. The prospect of spending 14 more days in the sun gave the kickers additional motivation, and enticed spectators, who made their way in ever greater numbers to the VOLKSWAGEN ARENA. One player was especially in the public eye: Thomas Brdaric. The VfL striker had yet to provide a victory to his fans on his own turf. "It’s time. I really want to score, but I have to stay relaxed and not cramp up in front of the goal. I hope, I’ll get my chance to finally score in front of the home crowd", explained Brdaric.
D'Alessandro’s shining hour
A goal would again be denied to the diligent striker. Nevertheless, VfL were floating on cloud nine after their home match against Gladbach. "This is great, the dream is alive", is how Stefan Schnoor reacted to the 2:1 victory. With a decisive goal, the captain himself provided for a wave of euphoria, which not everyone on the Aller wanted to ride. "If we don’t take our playing up a notch, it won’t be enough to stay on top in two months", Gerets remarked. But the fans didn’t care. They celebrated the sixth victory in seven games. The outstanding man on the field was once again the smallest among the top eleven: Andres D'Alessandro. "Andres makes a difference", said Gerets, summarizing what the Argentinean had put on offer in the 90 minutes of play. He was only to be stopped by fouls, dancing around his opponents and scoring the most important go-ahead goal with superb assistance from Miroslav Karhan. And the whirlwind wouldn’t have even remained on the field had things gone according to Gerets’s wishes. The Belgian coach wanted to take D'Alessandro out at halftime "because he seemed tired". The stubborn D'Alessandro angrily returned to the field and answered this charge in his own way.
On October 17, all eyes were once again on Thomas Brdaric. The former Hanover man could hardly wait for the Lower Saxony match: "The game in Hanover is very exciting, I’ve been thinking about it for days. I had a great time there which I’ll never forget. The fans and the team won my heart over." Meanwhile, another player had to exercise patience: captain Stefan Schnoor was once again not in the starting formation against the tenth-place team, which had been quietly climbing the standings after a bad start. The defense specialist was one of the victims in a "competition that has become much harder", remarked Gerets. But precisely this stability was a building block for Wolfsburg’s success, which had by now even been recognized Bavaria president Franz Beckenbauer: "I have Wolfsburg on the ticket. These Wolves can stay on top". A small side note: Uli Hoeneß also spoke up, promising to help out if Wolfsburg needed to build a town hall balcony for the championship celebrations.
Passing the final exam
But these bold dreams were quickly revealed to be castles in the air, as the game in the AWD Arena showed: Neighboring Hanover won a clear 3-0 victory, thus ending Wolfsburg’s streak. Right away the first shot from 96 forward Silvio Schröter hit the mark. With a drop kick in the seventh minute he overwhelmed goalie Jentzsch. Wolfsburg was nevertheless clearly superior and dominated their hosts almost completely in the first 45 minutes. What was lacking were goals, and that would come back to haunt them. The diligent Schröter scored again for the other side, bring the score to 2-0. All attempts by the wolves to bring the score to their favor failed. Even Brdarics warrior-like efforts went unrewarded. To the contrary: With 3-0 in overtime, the green-and-whites had to vacate the top spot in the division and content themselves with second place, behind Stuttgart. Gerets’ mood reflected the change: "I’m very disappointed, since it’s such a great feeling to be on top."
One week later the Wolves got the chance to win back the "pole position". In the game against VfL Bochum Klaus Fuchs was forced to ask "how mature the team is". Until that point the VfL had always won season games in which Stefan Schnoor was on the starting squad. So this lucky charm was once again allowed to participate in the duel between the two clubs from the beginning on. He replaced the suspended Kevin Hofland in the defense. And they came out with their guns blazing. With a masterful performance in the first half, the team impressed not only Gerets, but also national coach Jürgen Klinsmann, who had come to the VOLKSWAGEN ARENA to observe Brdaric, among others. "This is my first time in Wolfsburg and it’s fun to see the Wolves play. It’s a very entertaining game." At the end the scoreboard read 3-0. Playing a key role in the success of Gerets' team was D'Alessandro, who played with great enthusiasm and scored a goal himself, and Brdaric. The team play of the VfL forward was praised by the national coach: "Thomas did his job very well. He was constantly in motion; he sucked the ball up and laid the groundwork for the 2-0", said Klinsmann. Again Brdaric was unable to score a goal ...
Four Petrov goals
After returning to the top of the division, the Wolves went to face the champions in Bavaria. Geret’s troupe travelled to the Isar aiming "to win in Munich, even though it’s hard" (Diego Klimowicz), and knowing that even if they lose they would stay in front of FCB and thus in a strong position. But on the Olympia St grass these positive resolutions seemed to pop like bubbles. The match turned out to be a one-sided affair. Munich was relaxed and dominant, creating numerous chances to score, while Wolfsburg appeared helpless. The result: zero points, 0-2. A bitter lesson for the Wolves.
The situation in the standings was unfavorable before the home game against promoted team Mainz on October 30. Only Stuttgart and Wolfsburg had gone down - all six teams behind them had gained three points. In order for Gerets Jung’s boys not to slip into mediocrity, they definitely had to score a victory against the newcomers from Mainz. And the self-titled "carnival team" was not to be underestimated. The Rhine Hessians surprised the German soccer world by reaching fifth place and were burning to avenge themselves against VfL for the lost promotion game in 1997. Actually, the drama of the game developed in a similar fashion to that game. Four goals by Martin Petrov and a final score of 4-3, those are the facts of a potboiler that would be hard to top for suspense. After being behind 0-2, the Wolves fought back and turned the game around thanks to Petrov’s outstanding performance. With regard to the outstanding performance of the Bulgarian, Dimo Wache, goalkeeper of the visitors, quipped bitterly: "He could have shot from his house and scored." With this victory, VfL assured itself of the top spot in the division, but Pablo Thiam put a lid on the euphoria: "We earned our place at the top, but the season still has a long way to go and we don’t want to get cocky." The day after the crazy game Marco Bode renounced his candidacy for the position of sporting director for "personal and private" reasons.
First new addition announced
On November 4 the VfL announced its first new signing for the coming season: Peter van der Heyden from FC Brügge was signed for the left defensive position. Two days later the green-and-white travelled to the club in Nürnberg. There they were to have a reunion with FCN coach Wolfgang Wolf, who had been under contract as coach of Lower Saxony for a long time. Unfortunately, the meeting with a dear old friend developed into a difficult and disappointing Saturday afternoon. Fate dealt them a blow at the beginning of the match: D'Alessandro was kicked off the field after only eight minutes for shoving Schroth. At this point the point the score was 1-0. The "Phantom" Marek Mintal wasted no time in striking again. In the following minutes goals for the hosts fell like ripe fruits. By the end the Wolves had suffered their worst first-round loss: 0-4. No one dared to say the word "championship" after this game was over. Certainly not Gerets, who declared, "The championship is further away than ever. But we never talked about it anyway. It was always other people doing that." Not a good start for November... Nevertheless VfL remained conference leader. What happened then you will find out in the third part of our season review.
