Football Season Guide

Wolfsburg are a very ambitious club and after failing to qualify for a European competition in the 2012/13 season, their fifth place finish last year puts them into the Europa League at the group stage. Often German teams in the Europa League are lightweight but Wolfsburg are a good side and will be aiming to reach the latter stages of the tournament. But their league form will also be crucial as they aim to get back into the Champions League which they played in for one season after winning the title a few seasons ago. With the backing of car company Volkswagen they have the resources to reach the top four and their squad continues to improve in quality. Aaron Hunt and Sebastian Jung join from other Bundesliga sides which adds some more depth to the squad while the addition of Joshua Guilavogui on loan from Atletico Madrid gives some more back up in central midfield. They join a squad which is already fairly complete and contains plenty of quality with the likes of Luiz Gustavo and Kevin de Bruyne. However what is still missing for Dieter Hecking's side is a striker who will help them compete against the sides they will have to face in Europe. Ivica Olic and Bas Dost both did well for them last year but are not as prolific as Hecking would like. Die Wölfe have been linked with plenty of strikers over the summer but have yet to make a purchase although some will most likely come in before the end of the transfer window. Wolfsburg will again lineup in their usual 4-2-3-1 with the strength coming down the spin of the team. Diego Benaglio has continued to improve in goal while in front of him the giant centre back Naldo is their rock in defence. They have plenty of options in defensive midfield but Gustavo is their key player there as long as he can keep his discipline record in check. But the strongest area of the pitch are the attacking midfielders with the likes of Hunt, de Bruyne, Maximilian Arnold and Ivan Perisic all quality players with a number of others supporting them. A cup run would also be a decent addition to their season and they have the squad size to deal with it, an exit at the semi final stage last season hurt and they would love to finally get some silverware since they won the league in 2009.