FC Köln match preview

By: j | August 15th, 2008

The new kids (die geißböcke) in the Bundesliga visit Volkswagen Arena for the opening match of the campaign.

After brilliantly leading Wolfsburg to the UEFA Cup, Felix Magath spent wisely in the off-season and amongst the fanfare around the Football world, I doubt there is a more telling statement of any club as it brought in Azzurri capped Cristian Zaccardo and Andrea Barzagli. Far beyond their tremendous playing ability is the extraordinary leadership and wealth of experience these men possess and it has immediately changed the clubs vision from survival to the building a hardware case. This was a brilliant move that will pay rich dividends in the future of the club as it looks to build the habit of winning. On the more attacking side, Wolfsburg will use the highly creative Zvjezdan Misimović in replacement of their departed captain Marcelino who will excel as the enganche within the 4-4-2 diamond that was so successful last campaign. Along with the steady emergence of Daniel Baier, Edin Džeko as well stalwarts Grafite and Ashkan Dejagah, Wolfsburg has the potential of being a highly explosive squad along with top-flight defensive core. A key man of the match to watch is Zvjezdan Misimović, who could be hampered with the loss of Grafite, who is facing a possible suspension over a foolish red-card in last weekends Palermo friendly and of-course new men Cristian Zaccardo and Andrea Barzagli whose impact upon the clubs Champions League goals will be enormous.

In the opening match of the season Felix Magath will come out with a steady approach, cautious of the upstarts who are keen to impress and control play. If Wolfsburg successfully controls play early they will then begin to move forward but through a level of patience and tactical precision. Mr. Magath knows the siege mentality of FC Köln very well and will not play into it or Die wölfe will be facing a similar start as last seasons lost to Arminia Bielefeld. The first fifteen minutes will demonstrate the success of the early plan as it will be to control play, with quality touches and not let the visitors become comfortable. The pitch will be widened and only if channel attacks are wide-open early will they be taken but this will be a well scripted play. This is Wolfsburg’s match to win and they will look to start the campaign off with a tactically efficient assault.

Match day one is upon us. Die wölfe und die geißböcke.