Wolfsburg ready to deliver

"Our team is dealing with a new situation." Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking's words to German football magazine "kicker" this week ring true. His side are currently three points clear in second spot in the Bundesliga, and only seven behind league leaders Bayern Munich.

Hecking's men have scored the most goals (25, the same as Leverkusen) after 13 league games and have the third best defensive record (only 12 conceded). Before narrowly losing to Schalke on matchday 12, you had to go back to the end of September to read about a Wolfsburg league defeat. So far this season, it seems that green and white really is the new yellow and black.

This weekend, Wolfsburg host regional rivals Hannover and are heavy favorites. Even Hannover coach Tayfun Korkut believes "Wolfsburg are one of the top three teams in the league." A win in these weekend's derby would be another step towards confirming that, this season, Wolfsburg really are one of Germany's top three teams. With Luiz Gustavo returning from suspension, and Josuha Guilavogui and coveted left back Ricardo Rodriguez both returning from injury, Hannover are an appetizing proposition for the Wolves.

The Wolves are keen to get their fill while they can. Since their surprise title win back in 2009, they've been feeding on scraps and it has left their fan base, and the rest of the league, baffled. They've perfected the art of failing to fulfill a potential that arose five years ago. The year after winning the Bundesliga, the club finished 8th. That campaign was followed by a narrow escape when the club finished 15th - two points off relegation. Then Wolfsburg soared to 8th again before dropping to 11th. Last year, they finally held it together for long enough and finished in a Europa League spot - although missed out on the even bigger prize of a Champions League position by just the one point.

A forgotten city

In fact, erratic league form aside, just about everything about Wolfsburg is baffling. In a city more industrial than interesting, the club have risen to prominence through their primary financial backers Volkswagen. They've had brilliant players pull on the colors over the years - Edin Dzeko, Mario Mandzukic, Stefan Effenberg and Diego - but have also seen many forgotten names come in and out of the changing rooms. It's a club permanently in transition, which makes it hard for the Wolves to find an identity.

This has left them, like a few other clubs in the league backed by major companies, labeled a "plastic club" and lacking in one of German football's proudest traits - tradition. The 2009 Bundesliga championship will go a little way to silence some. With some of the country's most traditional clubs, like 1860 Munich and FC Kaiserslautern, languishing in the second division, it's clear who is laughing now.

Around 2,500 of those smiling faces are expected in the away stands of Hannover's HDI Arena this weekend, something Hecking feels is "proof of the support" the club have attained along the way. One of those, Philip Harmeling, has been there since the start and believes that because "VfL Wolfsburg is a big club in a small city, the population is really attached to it." The recent success of the club naturally attracted more fans, and the city is now awash with the club's colors.

"Every pub or restaurant is colored with the traditional green and white, many VW cars are designed with these colors. The city really vibrates with the performance of the club," Harmeling told DW.

The key now is not to fade out. After Hannover, their final stretch before the winter break includes two home games against Paderborn and Cologne, as well as a trip to Dortmund and Lille in a decisive Europa League game. From a Bundesliga perspective, that's a whole heap of points Wolfsburg are capable of collecting, with the game in Dortmund potentially a turning point for 2015.

Time to deliver

Winning the title, in fact being labeled "Bayern Munich's new challengers" are two things coach Dieter Hecking doesn't like. He's right to dismiss them as well. Wolfsburg have progressed since the former Hannover and Nürnberg man took over. They're much more solid defensively - Robin Knoche is looking more and more like a Germany player every week - and have dealt, eventually, with the departure of one Croatian striker by squeezing the most out of an ageing other. Nevertheless, for a side still young on Bundesliga history they're only right to put the brakes on expectations.

"Second place would be very good but maybe Bayern will show some weakness," said the Wolves Belgian star Kevin de Bruyne in "kicker" on Thursday. But De Bruyne added this was highly unlikely because "Bayern still play like a top team even if 10 top players are injured."

De Bruyne, signed last year for 22 million euros, has blossomed into the perfect replacement for Diego - and seemingly without the petulance. He has one goal and nine assists in the league this season, and has been instrumental to the team's fast transitional play. At just 22-years-old, the Belgian is already starting to look like a franchise player for Wolfsburg.

With de Bruyne leading the way, the successful identity Wolfsburg are pursuing is more than within their grasp. The monstrously-dominant Bayern Munich are putting every Bundesliga clubs' success into relative terms. This Wolfsburg team maybe cannot expect to emulate the success of the team five years ago, but prolonged success with this group of players would go a long way to defining the club.