Thursday, October 23, 2008

send Jürgen back

The words I hope to hear sing out through the media post the match I have been waiting for all season.

Heading into Saturday's visit to Allianz Arena to face Bayern München, Wolfsburg will be looking to send an emphatic message that their rise in the Bundesliga is here to stay. However regardless of how the mainstream media wants to present this or how both sides deflect it, make no mistake this one is personal.

Der Kaiser's choice of then ex-pat Jürgen Klinsmann didn't go unnoticed to many in the German Footballing community as they questioned how he would return to full-time life in Germany and club Football itself. Many of the changes he has attempted to implement have had extremely poor results, created massive rifts in the club and further raised a suspecting eyebrow of his managerial capabilities in the beautiful Bavarian city. Recent victories have dulled the sharpness of naysayers tone but after inheriting a dominant club, their mid-table performance won't be tolerated.

Felix Magath, knows this too well. As Bayern leader he led them to back-to-back Bundesliga and DFB Pokal titles but after a modestly slow start in which they were sitting fourth in the table, they sent him packing in January 2007. Luckily for the good people in Wolfsburg, they recognized his talent and snapped him up in the summer.

Make no mistake about it as regardless of the nicities you will hear in the press or lack of reference to the topic, this is a very personal match.