Wolfsburg partying with 2-0 upset of Real

BERLIN - Many Wolfsburg fans rubbed their eyes in disbelief looking down onto the pitch: Was this their team playing marbles with Real Madrid.

The German team upset Real Madrid 2-0 on Wednesday in the first leg of the European Champions League quarterfinals.

Was it the team that has so far delivered such a poor and disappointing campaign in the Bundesliga? A team all of a sudden working together as a real team, and playing the game of their lives against a team that is regarded as being one of the best on the planet.

For Madrid, the 2-0 defeat was a slap in the face. Wolfsburg on the other hand is ruling the headlines of football for a while.

Wolfsburg' s coach Dieter Hecking obviously ignored all the pundits predicting his team would be demolished by the Spanish giant.

Maybe some knew they were the 2009 German champions but many saw the team as one that had lost its way in the German Bundesliga.

Players like Julian Draxler and Andre Schuerrle, who for weeks had trouble holding down a place in Wolfsburg`s starting eleven, were working like destroyers.

And Bruno Henrique, a Brazilian striker who was bought for four million euro last winter, kept Real`s defense busy all the evening.

Hecking's game plan in a 4-1-4-1 system worked well at least in the first half and the main part of the second as returning Brazilian defender Naldo was a gain for Wolfsburg`s so fragile defense. Wolfsburg dominated the midfield as well.

No doubt, behind Wolfsburg now lies an evening everybody will be talking about for year to come, but for Hecking the most important question will be: How does daily life go on from now.

It needs a miracle to get into a European competition next season. And it is not a risky bet that the prediction of Wolfsburg defender Vieirinha most likely won`t become reality.

Real in Wolfsburg for long was a team without passion and inspiration. Madrid`s top stars were close to losing their tempers. They were humiliated by Wolfsburg`s nobodies and brought down to earth by an underdog.

The duel of underdog Wolfsburg against the big favorite Real Madrid was a classic case of fatal miscalculation by the latter. Now it is the job of the 2014 Champions League winner Real Madrid and their coach Zinedine Zidane to put things right in the re-match next week.

Wolfsburg were lucky in the first minutes when Ronaldo had a goal disallowed for being narrowly off-side. And to get a doubtful penalty in the 18th minute which Riccardo Rodriguez converted to put the Germans 1-0 up. The second goal scored by Maximilian Arnold was a case of greater will and determination.

Wolfsburg now are with a chance of finishing the job in Spain, and the tremendous performance could be the turning point for the club on the way into a better future.