Portsmouth Football Club News

Most Pompey fans will face a new experience when they travel to Germany to see their side play VfL Wolfsburg in the UEFA Cup on Thursday, December 4. The only time the Blues have faced German opposition before was in a two-legged friendly in the 1970/71 season. Pompey lost 4-0 to MSV Duisburg in Germany and then a month later went down again 2-0 at Fratton Park. These matches were staged due to the twining of the two cities, so this second trip to Germany is far more glamorous - and indicative of how far the club has come since those days. Wolfsburg were flirting with relegation not too long ago, finishing in 15th place in the Bundesliga in 2006 and 2007. But last season they hired former Bayern Munich boss Felix Magath, who guided them to fifth in the Bundesliga, a position that secured qualification to the UEFA Cup for only the second time in the club’s history. In the first round Wolfsburg overcame FC Rapid Bucuresti 2-1 on aggregate, winning the home leg 1-0 courtesy of a 47th minute penalty by Brazilian striker Grafite. The second leg saw him score again to give Wolfsburg a vital away goal before Rapid scored a late, meaningless equalizer. Wolfsburg currently lie ninth in the Bundesliga with two wins, four draws and just a single defeat to their name. Last time out they got a creditable 2-2 draw at fifth-placed Schalke 04, their UEFA Cup colleagues, who had to rely on a 90th-minute equaliser. Wolfsburg is a very young city, built by the Nazis for the workers of the Volkswagen factories. It was founded in 1938 as Stadt des KdF-Wagens (City of the KdF Car). Kraft durch Freude (abbreviated to KdF and meaning "strength through joy") was the German state-controlled leisure organisation; one of its projects was the KdF-Wagen, which would later be known as the VW Beetle. After the Second World War the city adopted its current name, after Wolfsburg Castle, which is located in the city. Apart from the castle there are few historical buildings, but sights include new attractions like the Autostadt, a huge open air museum about automobiles which is owned by Volkswagen.

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