The Wolfsburg German Cup-winners that spoiled Jurgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund farewell
Before bringing success back to Anfield with Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp made his name in management by going toe-to-toe with Bayern Munich as Borussia Dortmund manager.
Klopp’s seven-year managerial career at Dortmund ended on May 30, 2015 in the 72nd DFB-Pokal final against VfL Wolfsburg. Klopp had endured an awful start to his final league campaign at the Westfalenstadion, but the team recovered after the winter break to finish seventh and reach the German cup final.
It teed up an opportunity for the perfect farewell and Klopp’s team featured a who’s who of BVB stars past and present, including Mats Hummels, Ilkay Gündogan, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Shinji Kagawa, Marco Reus and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
But the opposition were also well-stocked in terms of ability, and though Aubameyang gave the yellow-blacks a fifth-minute lead it was Dieter Hecking’s Wolfsburg team who came out on top that Saturday evening.
Luiz Gustavo grabbed the equaliser before Kevin De Bruyne and Bas Dost put the game out of Dortmund’s reach.
A painful goodbye for Klopp, who has since lifted the Champions League and the Premier League as Liverpool boss, but what of that Wolfsburg team? Where are those 11 starters and bench players now? Read on to find out.
Goalkeeper: Diego Benaglio
Wolfsburg appearances: 321
Current club: Free agent
Diego Benaglio, who came through at Stuttgart, made a name for himself while serving Wolfsburg. There, he played more than 300 times and kept 80 clean sheets. The 61-time capped Swiss international captained The Wolves on this triumphant day and would subsequently join AS Monaco, whom he left in the summer.
Right-back: Vieirinha
Wolfsburg appearances: 163
Current club: Free agent
The much-travelled Portuguese full-back enjoyed six seasons at Wolfsburg, in which time he earned a national team call-up. Since leaving Germany following the 2016/17 campaign, Vieirinha has exclusively played for Greek outfit PAOK and last season lifted a second championship, as captain, having previously won the Portuguese title at FC Porto. Last season, Vieirinha often appeared in a more advanced role, often on the wings but, like Benaglio, is now a free agent.
Centre-back: Naldo
Wolfsburg appearances: 163
Current club: Free agent
An evergreen Brazilian defensive colossus, Naldo became a superstar at Werder Bremen before joining Bundesliga rivals Wolfsburg, where he averaged 31 league starts per season across a four-year stay. Schalke 04 would become his third (and to date final) German club. Most recently, Naldo spent a year with Monaco, but has been without a club since leaving the Ligue 1 side in January.
Centre-back: Timm Klose
Wolfsburg appearances: 43
Current club: Norwich City
Klose joined Norwich City in 2016, subsequently ending a three-year association with Wolfsburg. He played a pivotal role in the Canaries’ top-flight return but the veteran German centre-back made just seven appearances in all competitions last season, suffering a knee injury.
Left-back: Ricardo Rodríguez
Wolfsburg appearances: 184
Current club: Torino
Rodríguez established himself as one of the Bundesliga’s more revered left-backs at Wolfsburg, creating 26 goals across 149 league outings, before AC Milan signed him in 2017 amid their rebuilding phase. After struggling to get into their team last season, Rodriguez was loaned to PSV and made six appearances before the Eredivisie’s early finish. He is now back in Italy, but with Torino having been sold over the summer.
Central midfielder: Maximilian Arnold
Wolfsburg appearances: 274
Current club: Wolfsburg
Having come through Wolfsburg’s academy, Arnold – who has one senior Germany international cap under his belt – remains at his boyhood club. Having debuted in November 2011, he became their youngest ever player at 17 years, five months and 30 days old, a record he still holds to this day.
Central midfielder: Luiz Gustavo
Wolfsburg appearances: 142
Current club: Feberbahce
A 41-time Brazilian international Gustavo really came to the fore at Wolfsburg following solid spells at Hoffenheim and Bayern Munich. Gustavo moved from Wolfsburg to Marseille in 2017 and spent two years in France before joining Fenerbahce last summer, quickly becoming a key part of their midfield.
Right-winger: Daniel Caligiuri
Wolfsburg appearances: 130
Current club: Augsburg
Caligiuri spent almost four years at Wolfsburg, joining from Freiburg in 2013, and was involved in 37 goals across 130 matches for Wolfsburg, creating 21 of those and scoring 16 himself. In January 2017 the Italian winger joined fellow Bundesliga side Schalke 04, leaving after just over three years, now at Augsburg.
Attacking midfielder: Kevin De Bruyne
Wolfsburg appearances: 73
Current club: Manchester City
De Bruyne joined Wolfsburg following a disappointing time at Chelsea, whose manager at the time, Jose Mourinho, afforded him only nine appearances. German football reinvigorated him, and since moving to Manchester City he has been widely considered one of Europe’s best midfielders.
Left-winger: Ivan Perisic
Wolfsburg appearances: 88
Current club: Inter Milan
Wolfsburg were reacquainted with Perisic last season as the Croatian returned to the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, whom he joined last summer on loan from Inter Milan. He has added to his Bundesliga numbers as part of Bayern’s title-winning side, scoring four goals and recording six assists, having previously left boasting 27 goals shared between his time at Borussia Dortmund and Die Wölfe. Not to mention winning the DFB-Pokal and Champions League. However, he is now back at Inter and Bayern boss Hansi Flick has confirmed he will not return to the European champions.
Striker: Bas Dost
Wolfsburg appearances: 117
Current club: Eintracht Frankfurt
A serial goalscorer wherever he’s been, Bas Dost rocked 48 goals in 117 games for Wolfsburg before registering 93 strikes across 127 games at Sporting CP. Dost returned to Germany for the 2019/20 campaign, linking up with Eintracht Frankfurt, scoring eight goals in 24 games so far.
Substitutes:
Goalkeeper: Max Grün
Wolfsburg appearances: 12
Current club: Borussia Mönchengladbach
Max Grün would make nine Bundesliga appearances for Wolfsburg prior to joining SV Darmstadt 98, for whom he never played, and then Borussia Mönchengladbach, where he is still waiting to make his first-team debut.
Centre-back: Robin Knoche
Wolfsburg appearances: 226
Current club: Union Berlin
Until the summer of 2020, Robin Knoche was a one-club man, making over 200 appearances for Wolfsburg. But after 15 years on the books at Wolfsburg, Knoche left for Union Berlin on a free transfer.
Left-back: Marcel Schäfer
Wolfsburg appearances: 312
Current club: Retired
Marcel Schäfer called time on his professional career in 2018 after enjoying a year representing the Tampa Bay Rowdies, while in Europe he was Wolfsburg first choice left-back for much of a decade.
Defensive midfielder: Christian Träsch
Wolfsburg appearances: 154
Current club: Al-Wasl
Träsch joined UAE side Al-Wasl in February having previously spent his entire playing career in Germany, last representing FC Ingolstadt whom he joined from Wolfsburg. There, he made over 100 league appearances between 2011 and 2017.
Defensive midfielder: Josuha Guilavogui
Wolfsburg appearances: 192
Current club: Wolfsburg
Guilavogui, who in the past briefly represented Atlético Madrid, today serves as Wolfsburg’s captain and has missed just six games with the club chasing Europa League football.
Left-winger: André Schürrle
Wolfsburg appearances: 63
Current club: Retired
Since setting up Mario Götze’s winning goal at the 2014 World Cup final, Schürrle has represented no fewer than five clubs including Wolfsburg, sandwiched between spells at Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund. Following loan spells at Fulham and Spartak Moscow, Schurrle retired aged 29, citing mental health reasons as one of the factors.
Striker: Nicklas Bendtner
Wolfsburg appearances: 47
Current club: Free agent
So much was expected from Nicklas Bendtner when he burst onto the scene at Arsenal, but it never came together. Sunderland, Juventus, Wolfsburg, Nottingham Forest, Rosenborg and FC Copenhagen have all enjoyed his services, although Bendtner is currently without a club, leaving the latter in January.
