Wolfsburg: introducing the opponents
Friday, February 28, 2020
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Shakhtar will meet with Wolfsburg in the Europa League Round of 16
On March 12 the teams will meet at the Wolfsburg Arena, and on March 19 the return leg will take place at the OSK Metalist.
Opponents’ achievements
The 2008/09 season which is memorable for Shakhtar also ended triumphantly for Wolfsburg who became the Champions of Germany for the first and only time in history. The Wolves won the Bundesliga title in a spectacular manner, thrashing ... Werder Bremen 5-1 in the last round at home… The Bremen outfit held that match on the third day after the UEFA Cup final in Istanbul. Wolfsburg’s strikers Grafite and Edin Dzeko aggregately notched up 54 goals that football year.
The 2014/15 season was successful for the club. Wolfsburg finished second in the league, although they got 10 points adrift of Bayern due to 5 extra draws, but won the German Cup through their 3-1 comeback victory in the final over Borussia Dortmund under Jurgen Klopp. The leader of that squad was Kevin de Bruyne who eventually moved to Manchester City. By the way, in August 2015, Dieter Hecking’s men also defeated Bayern in the Super Cup.
Germany’s sixth best club
Wolfsburg completed their 2018/19 Bundesliga campaign in the sixth spot, getting a point clear of Eintracht, two points clear of Werder Bremen, and three points in front of Hoffenheim. This position gave the Green-and- Whites the right to kick off in the Europa League group stage. The draw pitted the Wolves against the Belgian Gent, the French Saint-Etienne, and the Ukrainian Oleksandriia, with the final result featuring 3 wins, 2 draws, and 1 defeat, plus 11 points and reaching the knockout stage from the second spot.
Duel vs Malmo and the leaders
In the Round of 32, Wolfsburg met with the Swedish Malmö and won 2-1 at home and 3-0 away. In both encounters, the Croatian left winger Josip Brekalo scored goals. In the current squad, he is the second-best scorer (7 goals in all competitions) after the Dutch centre-forward Wout Weghorst (14 goals, including the hat-trick vs Hoffenheim in February). By the way, only one footballer boasts more match minutes than the latter this season - the centre-half Maximilian Arnold. The captain is a Frenchman Josuha Guilavogui.
Progressive mentor
Wolfsburg’s head coach is Oliver Glasner, the 45-year-old Austrian whose name is associated with the success of another participant in the Europa League Round of 16 the Austrian LASK (he won silver medals with the club who returned to the top flight just a couple of years ago). The coach moved to Wolfsburg from Linz only this summer.
The calendar
Currently, Wolfsburg sit in the seventh spot in the domestic league (9 wins, 7 draws, 7 defeats, and 34 points given a highly dense bottom of the table). Before the first leg vs Shakhtar, the Green-and-Whites will meet with the middle-of-the-table Union away and the league title challengers Leipzig at home. And before the visit to Kharkiv, Glasner’s men will fly away to Augsburg.
Opinions about Shakhtar
The Wolfsburg coach and players have already shared their opinions about the draw in an interview to their club’s official website.
Opponents’ achievements
The 2008/09 season which is memorable for Shakhtar also ended triumphantly for Wolfsburg who became the Champions of Germany for the first and only time in history. The Wolves won the Bundesliga title in a spectacular manner, thrashing ... Werder Bremen 5-1 in the last round at home… The Bremen outfit held that match on the third day after the UEFA Cup final in Istanbul. Wolfsburg’s strikers Grafite and Edin Dzeko aggregately notched up 54 goals that football year.
The 2014/15 season was successful for the club. Wolfsburg finished second in the league, although they got 10 points adrift of Bayern due to 5 extra draws, but won the German Cup through their 3-1 comeback victory in the final over Borussia Dortmund under Jurgen Klopp. The leader of that squad was Kevin de Bruyne who eventually moved to Manchester City. By the way, in August 2015, Dieter Hecking’s men also defeated Bayern in the Super Cup.
Germany’s sixth best club
Wolfsburg completed their 2018/19 Bundesliga campaign in the sixth spot, getting a point clear of Eintracht, two points clear of Werder Bremen, and three points in front of Hoffenheim. This position gave the Green-and- Whites the right to kick off in the Europa League group stage. The draw pitted the Wolves against the Belgian Gent, the French Saint-Etienne, and the Ukrainian Oleksandriia, with the final result featuring 3 wins, 2 draws, and 1 defeat, plus 11 points and reaching the knockout stage from the second spot.
Duel vs Malmo and the leaders
In the Round of 32, Wolfsburg met with the Swedish Malmö and won 2-1 at home and 3-0 away. In both encounters, the Croatian left winger Josip Brekalo scored goals. In the current squad, he is the second-best scorer (7 goals in all competitions) after the Dutch centre-forward Wout Weghorst (14 goals, including the hat-trick vs Hoffenheim in February). By the way, only one footballer boasts more match minutes than the latter this season - the centre-half Maximilian Arnold. The captain is a Frenchman Josuha Guilavogui.
Progressive mentor
Wolfsburg’s head coach is Oliver Glasner, the 45-year-old Austrian whose name is associated with the success of another participant in the Europa League Round of 16 the Austrian LASK (he won silver medals with the club who returned to the top flight just a couple of years ago). The coach moved to Wolfsburg from Linz only this summer.
The calendar
Currently, Wolfsburg sit in the seventh spot in the domestic league (9 wins, 7 draws, 7 defeats, and 34 points given a highly dense bottom of the table). Before the first leg vs Shakhtar, the Green-and-Whites will meet with the middle-of-the-table Union away and the league title challengers Leipzig at home. And before the visit to Kharkiv, Glasner’s men will fly away to Augsburg.
Opinions about Shakhtar
The Wolfsburg coach and players have already shared their opinions about the draw in an interview to their club’s official website.
Shakhtar Donetsk is a well-known name in European football, being a regular participant in the Champions League
Oliver Glasner, head coach:
“Shakhtar Donetsk is a well-known name in European football, being a regular participant in the Champions League. They are very good opponents, having many South American footballers in the squad. This team is the absolute number one in Ukraine, their quality is different compared to Oleksandriia who we played in the group stage. Therefore, in the Round of 16, we will need a solid team performance.”
“Shakhtar Donetsk is a well-known name in European football, being a regular participant in the Champions League. They are very good opponents, having many South American footballers in the squad. This team is the absolute number one in Ukraine, their quality is different compared to Oleksandriia who we played in the group stage. Therefore, in the Round of 16, we will need a solid team performance.”
We want to achieve good starting positions in the home game, as was done in the confrontation with Malmo
Robin Knoche, the club graduate and central defender:
“An interesting draw. No wonder Shakhtar tied 3-3 in Lisbon. We really look forward to the games. Everything is possible, and we believe in our strengths. We want to secure a good starting position in the home game, just as we did in the encounter with Malmo.”
“An interesting draw. No wonder Shakhtar tied 3-3 in Lisbon. We really look forward to the games. Everything is possible, and we believe in our strengths. We want to secure a good starting position in the home game, just as we did in the encounter with Malmo.”