Next Drop: VfL Wolfsburg Men — All you need to know about the team
As you may have heard we have partnered with the German football club VfL Wolfsburg to create unique NFT’s for both their men’s and women’s teams! With the men’s NFT’s launching today and the 66th anniversary of the club taking place, we want to take a closer look at the club’s history that, at the point of writing this, is at the top of the Bundesliga standings.
In September 1945, short after the end of World War 2, the “Verein für Leibesübungen” (in short “VfL”, meaning “club for physical activities”) was founded, now including seven different sports. In the end football became the sport the club is the most well known for.
One of their trademarks is the bright green colour of their jerseys. When looking for matching football jerseys after the horrors of the war, shortages were common, but 10 matching green football jerseys were found and given to the players of Wolfsburg. With that the colours of the club were determined and have been taken over by the city of Wolfsburg as their official city colours, showing the deep involvement between the city and the club.
After starting at the bottom of the German league system, they reached the highest German league 9 years after being founded. Shortly after their foundation, they had the appearance of Pelé in a friendly game. In 1992 their official debut as a professional team came with their ascent to the 2. Bundesliga, the second highest league in German football. In an incredible game on the last matchday of the season 1997, Wolfsburg beat Mainz 05 to secure their place in the Bundesliga for the first time since 1959.
They didn’t take a lot of time to get used to their surroundings, qualifying for the UEFA-Cup that would become the Europa-League after just two years in the Bundesliga. During that season they made a remarkable comeback, not winning a game until the 8th game of the season but still finishing 6th in the overall standings. In the UEFA-Cup they managed to win their first game against Atletico Madrid but were eliminated in the 3rd round.
Another step towards a commercially oriented club was taken in 2001, when the professional football section was moved out from the rest of the VfL with Volkswagen becoming the main shareholder. With that the build of a new stadium was given the green light as well, beginning construction in 2001. Within one-and-a-half-years the construction was finished and the first game took place on December 15, 2002, with Wolfsburg falling short against Stuttgart 1:2.
It would be a premiere for the Men’s team in 2004 as they took over the lead in the Bundesliga for the first time ever, finishing 9th in that season. After some average years they finished 5th in the 2007/2008 season. A record-high, which secured their ticket for the Euro-League after qualifying for the first time in 1998. Unfortunately, they lost in the round of 32.
They would provide a sensational season to follow up on that 5th place, winning the Bundesliga Season after only being in 10th place at the halfway point of the season. In that season Edin Džeko and Grafite scored 54 goals, making them the most successful duo of strikers in history of the Bundesliga. Their premiere season in the Champions League ended with a 3rd place in the group stage. In the Euro-League they moved into the quarterfinals before falling short to their opponents.
In 2015 another milestone would follow. 20 years after competing in their first DFB-Pokal final they won the final against Borussia Dortmund 3:1, scoring three quick goals after falling behind early in the game.
The following Champions League period would mark another highlight for the Men’s team. In the quarterfinals they would meet Real Madrid with superstar Ronaldo and beat the favourite from Spain with 2:0. This is widely considered a star-making performance for the club that would qualify them for the Champions League in 2021, placing 3rd in the Bundesliga standings.
They are the youngest club in Bundesliga and they have impressive history, but what would a club be without their players. How about Goalkeeper Diego Benaglio who played 259 games for Wolfsburg, or Maximilian Arnold, who has played 251 games so far and will eclipse Benaglio for the record player in the foreseeable future! Edin Džeko and Grafite still are the players with the most goals for Wolfsburg, but dutch striker Wout Weghorst is hot on their heels and might advance in the standings soon.
Wolfsburg players can be bought in different rarities and various packs in our web-app and on iOS and Android. We are offering x different packs with various chances to get rare cards out of them. We are offering packs for everyone in different price ranges, so everyone can get a part of our new partner!
We hope you liked our summary about our newest partner! Combining interesting heritage and success in sports while including both Men and Women fits perfectly in FANZONE’s philosophy. You can buy the NFT’s from the complete Men’s team now and the Women’s squad following next week.
Follow us into the future at FANZONE, this is only the beginning! Make sure to check us out on Telegram, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or join our Discord channel to never miss out on cool content
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ABOUT FANZONE
FANZONE Media GmbH develops and operates a novel fan experience platform that combines digital trading cards and fantasy sports gameplay on the blockchain. On fanzone.io, users can buy, collect, trade and use the digital trading cards of their favorite sports stars in different game variants. Porsche’s company builder, Forward31, is the strategic partner of FANZONE.
Founders Dirk Weyel, Claudio Weck and Björn Hesse bring decades of experience in games, sports marketing and blockchain technology to the table. More on www.fanzone.media
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