Rogério

Left Back - VfL Wolfsburg
7 Nov 2026
Saturday
Process

Marked for Rogério

13 Edition

The VfL Wolfsburg Herald

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Elba Rashani damages knee ligaments — 52 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 52 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.

Squad

38 days out for Maximilian Arnold after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. VfL Wolfsburg will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Market

Rogério puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at VfL Wolfsburg, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

VfL Wolfsburg may not be able to give César Gelabert what he wants

It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. César Gelabert wants continental football; whether VfL Wolfsburg can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.

Squad

Tempers go at VfL Wolfsburg

Jarell Quansah was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Player ratings

One of those days for Robert Glatzel

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.06, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

Muhammed Damar was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 17. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Squad

Too much change too quickly at VfL Wolfsburg

16 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.

The dugout

Saël Kumbedi gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

In brief

Back issues
12 Edition

The VfL Wolfsburg Herald

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

The knee: Elba Rashani out for 61 days

61 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. VfL Wolfsburg lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Squad

Maximilian Arnold breaks a bone — 46 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 46 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Squad

Words exchanged at VfL Wolfsburg

Jarell Quansah and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Player ratings

Rogério was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 21. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Match

A bad afternoon for VfL Wolfsburg against St. Pauli

0‑1 to St. Pauli, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

A row about effort at VfL Wolfsburg

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Elvis Rexhbeçaj was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Gregor Kraus faces the questions

“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Gregor Kraus after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.

Market

The Jarell Quansah question follows VfL Wolfsburg around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Jarell Quansah’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

Looking ahead

Robert Glatzel faces his old club

Mainz 05 next, and one man in the VfL Wolfsburg dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.

In brief

11 Edition

The VfL Wolfsburg Herald

12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Elba Rashani

68 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. VfL Wolfsburg lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Squad

Maximilian Arnold breaks a bone — 55 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 55 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Match

VfL Wolfsburg tear Werder Bremen apart

Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 3‑0 against Werder Bremen, and it could have been more.

Player ratings

Jonathan Rodríguez, 33, rolls back the years — 7.86

There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.86 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.

Player ratings

A defender's goal wins it for VfL Wolfsburg — 7.92

1 for Rogério, marked 7.92, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.

Squad

A falling-out at VfL Wolfsburg

Jarell Quansah and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

At last: VfL Wolfsburg win one

6 matches without a win, and then this, against Werder Bremen. Relief is a strange noise in a football ground and it was the only noise at the end.

The terraces

VfL Wolfsburg supporters have found a favourite in Muhammed Damar

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Muhammed Damar has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

Market

Andreas Franke steps up from the VfL Wolfsburg academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Andreas Franke has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

In brief

10 Edition

The VfL Wolfsburg Herald

5 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

The knee: Elba Rashani out for 77 days

77 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. VfL Wolfsburg lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Squad

Maximilian Arnold breaks a bone — 64 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 64 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Match

The wait goes on for VfL Wolfsburg

6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Timon Wellenreuther

There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Squad

Jarell Quansah in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at VfL Wolfsburg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Álvaro Aguado’s goal not enough for VfL Wolfsburg

Álvaro Aguado scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑3 to Bayer Leverkusen, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

Player ratings

Rogério was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 18. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

The dugout

Rilind Nivokazi gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

The dugout

Gregor Kraus answers for it

“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.

In brief

9 Edition

The VfL Wolfsburg Herald

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

The knee: Elba Rashani out for 86 days

86 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. VfL Wolfsburg lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Squad

71 days out for Maximilian Arnold after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. VfL Wolfsburg will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Market

Rogério hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what VfL Wolfsburg can pretend not to have heard.

Match

5 matches without a win for VfL Wolfsburg

The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around VfL Wolfsburg are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Tempers go at VfL Wolfsburg

Jarell Quansah was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Match

Union Berlin take the points off VfL Wolfsburg

Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

The dugout

No hiding place for Timon Wellenreuther

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Timon Wellenreuther, and the manager let it.

Squad

A row about effort at VfL Wolfsburg

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Elvis Rexhbeçaj was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Market

VfL Wolfsburg may not be able to give Yhormar Hurtado what he wants

It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Yhormar Hurtado wants continental football; whether VfL Wolfsburg can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.

In brief

3 Edition

The VfL Wolfsburg Herald

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Transfer targets

Door shut on Dušan Vlahović

VfL Wolfsburg asked and Juventus said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Transfer targets

VfL Wolfsburg bid $27.9M for César Gelabert

The offer went to Gijón this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.

Transfer targets

Too dear: VfL Wolfsburg walk away from Nathan Tella

$25.1M was the most the club would pay and Bayer Leverkusen were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.

Market

VfL Wolfsburg say no — this time

The offer from Heidenheim for Rogério was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.

Squad

Tempers go at VfL Wolfsburg

Maximilian Arnold was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

A wage question at VfL Wolfsburg

Yannick Gerhardt has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.

Squad

A season on the outside for Álvaro Aguado

He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at VfL Wolfsburg has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.

Market

The Saël Kumbedi story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Saël Kumbedi signs something — a contract at VfL Wolfsburg or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

Market

Bence Dárdai joins Mainz 05 on loan for regular minutes

Mainz 05 did not take him to make up a number: they want him playing. For Bence Dárdai that is worth more than another season of watching from VfL Wolfsburg's bench, and everyone involved has said so out loud.

In brief

2 Edition

The VfL Wolfsburg Herald

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Transfer targets

An offer of $25.1M for Nathan Tella

VfL Wolfsburg have gone to Bayer Leverkusen with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.

Transfer targets

VfL Wolfsburg make their move for Tim Lemperle

$15.1M on the table at TSG Hoffenheim. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.

Transfer targets

An offer of $4.4M for Eric Smith

VfL Wolfsburg have gone to St. Pauli with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.

Market

Business is business: Christian Eriksen goes

Bayern Munich paid $4.6M and VfL Wolfsburg took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.

Squad

Muhammed Damar stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Muhammed Damar and VfL Wolfsburg agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

A falling-out at VfL Wolfsburg

Maximilian Arnold and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Market

Heidenheim watching Rogério

The interest is real enough to have reached print. VfL Wolfsburg have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.

Market

VfL Wolfsburg promote Peter Friedrich from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Peter Friedrich has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

Market

Paul Kaiser steps up from the VfL Wolfsburg academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Paul Kaiser has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

In brief

  • Squad Cleiton pulls a muscle — 17 days out
  • Squad 12 new faces, and VfL Wolfsburg are still learning each other
  • The dugout Muhammed Damar asks for a word with the manager
1 Edition

The VfL Wolfsburg Herald

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A career in one shirt: Maximilian Arnold

17 seasons and 402 appearances, all of them here. Careers like this are not designed; they happen to a certain kind of man at a certain kind of club, and this town has one.

Transfer targets

Club Brugge tell VfL Wolfsburg: Nicolò Tresoldi is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Transfer targets

VfL Wolfsburg baulk at the price for Lukas Klostermann

RB Leipzig wanted more than $6.3M and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.

Squad

Alessandro Schöpf gets the move he always wanted

Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Alessandro Schöpf has just signed for VfL Wolfsburg, and for once the answer mattered.

Market

Christian Eriksen raises the bar for VfL Wolfsburg

“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at VfL Wolfsburg heard it as anything else.

Squad

Christian Eriksen stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Christian Eriksen and VfL Wolfsburg agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

A falling-out at VfL Wolfsburg

Christian Eriksen and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Market

Rogério wants European nights

The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.

Market

Nobody at VfL Wolfsburg has picked up the phone to Timon Wellenreuther

36 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.

In brief