5 Things to Know About the Austrian Side Wolfsburg AC

During the Europa League knockout stage draw, many were forced to double-tag whenever Wolfsburg AC was mentioned.

So let’s exclude this from the beginning: No, Wolfsburg are not German Wandsburg side Wolfsburg, they are an Austrian Bundesliga side.

Wolfsberger was drawn against Tottenham Hotspur in the draw for the last 32, traveling on the cards to Spurs’ new ground. The Europa League fairytale is one of two ways, qualifying for the next round at the expense of Spurs or the chance to crush their European dreams by Jose Mourinho.

The Austrians recently qualified for Group K, finishing second behind Feinurd and CSKA Moscow, while team winners Dinamo Zagreb scored four points.

Here are some things you need to know about Wolfsburg AC …

The full name of the Wolfsburg Athletic Club is a bit oral, so fans have nicknamed their team ‘WAC’ – it’s short and sweet, we rate it.

A sponsorship agreement signed during the 2014/15 season, the team was renamed RZ Pellets Wolfsburger AC. Trying to say after a few Austrian beers! You can see from the image above how they incorporate the sponsor into their logo.

Imagine the outrage if a sponsor bought the right to name a team in England. We all remember how low it was when Mike Ashley renamed it St. James’ Park, imagine if he had changed the name of the entire club to Sports Direct United in Newcastle …

In 2007, Wolfsburg defeated local team SK. Made a bizarre deal with St. Andrew. They worked collaboratively to integrate resources and further enhance their sporting interests in matters such as management, economy, nutrition, and football.

This is a living example of “join them if you can’t beat them”, which is what Wolfsberger did. The promotion to the Austrian Bundesliga was secured at the end of the 2011/12 season, and the partnership ended soon after.

After being promoted, they finished a respectable fifth in a league with ten teams in the 2012/13 season. WAC has endured several sticky patches throughout the season and has won only one of their last nine matches.

Despite this bad run, they were able to beat the drop and have been on the first flight ever since.

The Wolfsburg first Europa League campaign was actually last season, after they finished a significant third in the league in 2018/19.

They finished the bottom of their group and won the game … but reasonably they were in a bloody tough group – Borussia Monchengladbach, Basakshir and A.S. With Roma. They won the opening game three defeats and two tracks before.