Just a few months ago, Wolfsburg fans were feeling like they were on top of the world. Dieter Hecking's men had been able to do what no other side in the Bundesliga - to defeat Bayern Munich. And more important, they scored four past the runaway league leaders; before then, Pep Guardiola's troops had only conceded the exact amount throughout the course of half a season.
Overall, it has been an impressive campaign for die Wölfe. Whilst they - let alone anyone - will not be able to stop a dominant Bayern from cruising to another league title, they have lost just seven times across all competitions. However, they will have quite a lot of work to do after being shocked in their Europa League quarter-finals first leg, when they were humiliated 4-1 by Napoli at home.
After seeing off another Italian opponent by powering past Inter 5-2 on aggregate, the team's supporters were feeling confident that they could again find their way past another Serie A side. Yet Rafa Benitez's men were the ones to blitz them as goals from Gonzalo Higuain, Manolo Gabbiadini, and captain Marek Hamsik were enough to keep their European aspirations alive and leave Wolfsburg's dreams in tatters.
They truly have a mountain to climb. No team has ever progressed after conceding more than two goals at home. In Wolfsburg's case, they have conceded four and to make matters worse, they will have to do without several key players:
Neben @DeBruyneKev und @Andre_Schuerrle fehlt auch #Vieirinha krankheitsbedingt im VfL-Kader. Für ihn an Bord: Patrick #Ochs. #UEL
— VfL_Wolfsburg (@VfL_Wolfsburg) April 22, 2015
"In addition to Kevin De Bruyne and Andre Schurrle, Wolfsburg will also be without Vieirinha due to illness. Patrick Ochs replaces him in the squad"
And Hecking, not surprisingly, given the monumental task ahead, is taking a pragmatic approach, recognising that they will need a miracle to overturn this massive deficit at the Stadio San Paolo:
Dieter #Hecking: "Auch wenn wir morgen ausscheiden, hat uns diese @EuropaLeague-Saison in unserer Entwicklung geholfen." #UEL
— VfL_Wolfsburg (@VfL_Wolfsburg) April 22, 2015
"Even if we are eliminated tomorrow, this Europa League season has really hepled with our development"
Hecking is hoping for a Wolfsburg miracle:
Meanwhile, Benitez is gunning to be the first ever coach to win a Europa League three times in recent times, having won it already with Chelsea in 2013 and Valencia in 2004. More impressively is the fact that should he manage to do it with Napoli, he would be the first to do it with three different clubs as former Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni did so also three times, but with Juventus and Inter.
The only time Napoli have won the Europa League was back in 1989, when they were led by none other than Argentinian legend Diego Maradona in what was a golden era for the Southern Italian club.
Yet despite being clearly one step closer to the semis, Hamsik, who netted a brace in Germany, feels that Napoli owe it to the fans to put on a good performance and not let their concentration slip at home:
#Hamsik: abbiamo fatto un buon risultato in Germania ma non è ancora finita, massima concentrazione per domani
— Official SSC Napoli (@sscnapoli) April 22, 2015
"[Although] we had a good result in Germany, [the game] is not over yet and tomorrow we have to be really focused"
And whilst, barring a shocking collapse Napoli are guaranteed their spot in the final four, Benitez will still like his troops to do more in their domestic campaign:
#Benitez: vincere domani con il Wolfsburg è fondamentale come vincere in campionato e avvicinarci a Roma e Lazio
— Official SSC Napoli (@sscnapoli) April 22, 2015
"Beating Wolfsburg tomorrow is as important as winning in the league and moving ahead of Roma and Lazio [for a Champions League spot]"
With Juventus already securing their place in the Champions League semi-finals, both Napoli and general calcio followers would like for the Partenopei to advance as Serie A supporters hope to see Italian football re-establish themselves after some difficult times. At this point, Bayern have done their part for Germany, and Wolfsburg will have to hope the unlikely becomes the likely if they wish to represent the Bundesliga in Europe's second-tier competition.
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