Champions Wolfsburg beat Stuttgart 2-0 in Bundesliga opener
August 8th, 2009 - 1:53 pm ICT by IANS
Wolfsburg (Germany), Aug 8 (DPA) Champions VfL Wolfsburg opened the German Bundesliga football season with a stylish 2-0 victory over VfB Stuttgart.
Playmaker Zvjezdan Misimovic curled home from the edge of the area in the 71th minute and the freshly-crowned German Footballer of the Year Grafite wrapped up matters in the 82nd here Friday night.
Wolfsburg went undefeated at home last season with 16 wins and a draw en route to a surprise first national title ahead of Bayern Munich and Stuttgart. Grafite scored a league-leading 28 goals and attacking partner Edin Dzeko 26.
“It was a nice evening for the club and for myself. Another goal for me, I am happy,” said Grafite.
Wolfsburg had an almost identical lineup as in the trophy campaign, with Karim Ziani the only newcomer fielded by coach Armin Veh.
Veh led Stuttgart to the 2007 title before being fired last November after a 4-1 hammering in Wolfsburg. He took over again July 1 for Felix Magath, who moved on to Schalke 04.
Stuttgart coach Markus Babbel played both new prominent hirings Alexandr Hleb and Pavel Pogrebnyak, with the ex-Zenit St Petersburg striker Pogrebnyak coming close with a header as Stuttgart dominated early in the game.
- Munich lead the Bundesliga charge on champions Wolfsburg - Aug 06, 2009
- Grafite extends contract with Wolfsburg until 2012 - Jun 30, 2009
- Grafite voted Germany's football of the year - Aug 02, 2009
- Wolfsburg break losing streak in Bundesliga - Sep 19, 2009
- Wolfsburg win at Schalke, avoid making history - Sep 19, 2009
- New coaches galore as Bundesliga kicks off - Aug 07, 2009
- Wolfsburg concede late 1-1 in Hamburg under new coach - Jan 30, 2010
- Bayern Munich on revenge mission in Wolfsburg - Feb 04, 2010
- Top scorer Grafite set to renew Wolfsburg contract - Jun 26, 2009
- Petric helps Hamburg down Cologne in Bundesliga - Dec 08, 2008
- Man City set to sign Edin Dzeko for 34 million pounds - Dec 30, 2010
- Ailing Stuttgart sack Babbel, appoint Gross - Dec 07, 2009
- Late goal prevents Leverkusen opening a gap at the top - Feb 22, 2010
- Stuttgart fire coach Veh, Babbel in charge - Nov 24, 2008
- Wolfsburg appoint McClaren coach - May 11, 2010
Tags: bayern munich, dpa, felix magath, football season, footballer of the year, friday night, german bundesliga, grafite, hleb, july 1, karim ziani, last november, markus babbel, newcomer, pavel, playmaker, schalke 04, st petersburg, striker, trophy