Wolfsburg have continued to make solid progress under coach Dieter Hecking and can rightly be considered the second best side in Germany at the end of a long and, at times difficult, season. The campaign started for Die Wölfe with a penalty shout-out win in their first round cup match against second division new boys Darmstadt but ended with them winning the cup. In between, the squad has flourished and grown in confidence, built around a few key players. But the start of the season was tough, and Hecking’s side took until round four to register a win. Their form also remained inconsistent until a round seven win at home to Augsburg saw them go on an eight match winning streak. By the end of that they had established themselves in second place, a position they would hold until the end of the season. Their progress in their Europa League group stage followed a similar course as they were outclassed by English side Everton before doing enough against the weaker sides in the group. In the winter break, though, tragedy struck the side when talented midfielder Junior Malanda was killed in a car crash at the age of just 19. However a strong finish to 2014 spilled over into 2015 and, just a day after their stunning 4 – 1 home win over Bayern München, they signed Andre Schürrle to add to their impressive squad. Few could stop Hecking’s side as they brushed aside both their league opposition and some European heavyweights in the Europa League, knocking out both Sporting Lisbon and Inter Milan. But near the end of the campaign fatigue began to be a problem and, starting with a shocking home defeat to Napoli in the quarter final of the Europa League, their league form also suffered. They still did enough to finish in second and avoided defeat at home for the whole season in the league but it showed that more depth will probably be required for next campaign with the club entering the Champions League. However the crowning glory of the season came on 30th May when they came from behind to beat Borussia Dortmund in the German Cup final to win the competition for the first time in the club’s history, outclassing their opponents on the way. It sets them up perfectly for next year as they have proven they can win things and are able to beat the best the league has to offer with wins coming against almost every other side in the league except for Eintracht Frankfurt. Hecking has built a very strong squad including a defence which contains the ever consistent Diego Benaglio in goal along with Naldo and Ricardo Rodriguez who are two of the league’s better defenders. In midfield Vierinha showed his flexibility by playing in defence and midfield while Daniel Caligiuri was much improved. Luiz Gustavo and Joshua Guilavogui were also very strong in defensive midfield. But their star player can also claim to be the best in the league as Kevin de Bruyne delivered on his potential with an excellent season in which he scored ten times but also chipped in with an excellent twenty assists. He will be a crucial part of any success the cub has next season, if they can keep hold of him with interest known to be high. However, sporting director Klaus Allofs may well be looking into their striker situation for next season as top scorer Bas Dost was hot and cold throughout the season while the club was, perhaps understandably, ridiculed for signing Niklas Bendtner, who ended up being marginalised and may well leave the club in the summer. Adding a top striker to this side could make them into real title challengers with 2015/16 having the potential to be very exciting for the club.
