While players like Maximilian Arnold and Bennit Bröger made their Bundesliga debuts before they even turned 18, others have had to wait a great deal longer to enjoy that significant career milestone. Marius Müller falls into the latter category, having made his first outing against Eintracht Frankfurt, putting him in VfL Wolfsburg’s top five oldest debutants.
First Team
Better late than never
Fifth place: Dietmar Kühbauer – 29 years, 4 months, 8 days
Dietmar „Didi“ Kühbauer's time at VfL was marked by ups and downs. The Austrian midfielder moved to Wolfsburg from Real Sociedad shortly after the turn of the century and his impressive performances were appreciated by the coach at the time, Wolfgang Wolf, and he would later be made captain. However, after losing his place in the starting line-up, Kühbauer returned to his homeland in summer 2002 and played in the Austrian second division. He had made his debut for VfL on 12 August 2000 in a 2-0 defeat in Leverkusen on the opening day of the season.
Fourth place: Pavao Pervan – 30 years, 9 months, 19 days
The second Austrian representative in the top five is a member of the current squad. Pervan joined the club in summer 2018 and made an unexpected debut on Matchday 2 when he stepped in for Koen Casteels, who was absent due to the imminent birth of his daughter. It was a joyful occasion all round, as the Wolves won 3-1 in Leverkusen on 1 September 2018.
Third place: Rick Hoogendorp – 31 years, 24 days
The Dutch forward arrived in Wolfsburg in January 2006 and made his debut a short while later in a 2-0 success over Borussia Mönchengladbach on 5 February. However, a year later he was loaned to Dutch second-division side ADO Den Haag for two years, bringing his spell in the Bundesliga to an end after 22 games. Now 50, he is the U21 coach at FC Dordrecht.
Second place: Marius Müller – 31 years, 6 months, 21 days
After 93 Bundesliga 2 outings and a further 120 in the Swiss Super League, Müller finally made his Bundesliga debut last Sunday when he replaced the injured Kamil Grabara in the 1-1 draw in Frankfurt.
First place: Steve Marlet – 31 years, 7 months, 17 days
On 27 August 2005, Marlet made his VfL debut in a 2-1 victory in Leverkusen. The former France international arrived following an illustrious career that included 55 goals in 219 appearances in Ligue 1, and 11 goals in 55 Premier League appearances. The centre forward struggled to establish himself in the Bundesliga though, and only scored once in 21 matches; it was an important goal, however, coming in the thick of a relegation battle against Duisburg on 1 April 2006. He returned to France at the end of the season.
