The aura of Elsterweg
The now 52-year-old joined VfL from Aberdeen FC a year after the Wolves’ promotion to the Bundesliga, instantly becoming a key player under head coach Wolfgang Wolf. Reflecting on his first season in Germany, which ended in qualification for the UEFA Cup, the holding midfielder says: “It went really well. It didn’t even come as a surprise to me, because our team spirit was exceptional.”
O’Neil and his colleagues earned hero status in the city, whose charm always impressed the Paisley native. “I was told Wolfsburg was only an industrial city, but I thought it was great – I’m from Glasgow!” he says, adding that the atmosphere at the Wolves’ former home, VfL-Stadion am Elsterweg, was a key factor in the club’s success. “It was tough [for opponents] to play us there. The big teams in particular didn’t like playing at Elsterweg at all. That really helped us.”
Three kids in three countries
O’Neil played for the Wolves in four competitions, making 66 appearances and scoring four goals. He was very happy off the pitch too, regularly meeting up with then team-mate Claus Thomsen for a round of golf. O’Neil and his wife also got to know Beata and Krzysztof Nowak – another former VfL player who lost his battle with motor neurone disease in 2005 – very well while attending German lessons together. “We had so much fun back then,” he says. “What happened to [Krzysztof] later really affected us. I still think of him very often.”
VfL are the only club O’Neil played for outside Scotland and England. He returned to the UK at the end of his second season in Germany, signing for Derby County in summer 2000 – but not before becoming a father for the second time while in Wolfsburg. “Our daughter was born in Scotland [before our move],” he explains with a chuckle. “My first son was born in Germany and the second in England. That probably won’t happen again in a hurry! Incidentally, being from Wolfsburg is an incredible source of pride for our son.”
Making VfL famous in Scotland
At the time, O’Neil was the only Scottish player to ply his trade in the Bundesliga. “It was a big thing,” he says. “Even now, people at home associate VfL Wolfsburg with my name. That’s why ending up in the Bundesliga was not just an honour for me, but for all Scottish people.”
