He scored 14 goals this season in the Bundesliga – so he has already achieved his goal for this season. Now Wout Weghorst has set himself a new brand: The goal scorer of VfL Wolfsburg should have 20 goals. “I had this brand in my head before. I can now approach this goal,” he says. One person has even more confidence in him: Ex-VfL star Grafite, whose goal record for Weghorst is no longer out of reach.
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In the 2008/09 championship season Grafite had scored 28 goals, so many goals of the season no one else scored for VfL in one season. After 20 game days, the Brazilian had twelve goals – two fewer than Weghorst currently has. However: Grafite became more and more accurate over the course of the season, scoring an incredible 16 goals in the last 13 games, including a three-pack and four double-packs. “I was injured before,” remembers the 41-year-old in an interview with SPORTBUZZER. “That’s why I missed a few games.” Indeed: The strong goalgetter missed six games due to head and knee injuries, and in three other games he had to go through suspensions. That didn’t prevent him from setting the goal record.
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Nobody scored as many VfL goals this season as Grafite Copy
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And what does he trust Weghorst to do? “He can score 25 goals!”, Says Grafite – and raves about the Dutchman: “He’s bigger than me and he’s strong – that’s what you need as a center forward in the Bundesliga. It’s hard to stop he was in top form, he has the necessary experience, the interaction with the team works better and better, the team understands the way they go. ” And that was precisely what was particularly important in his time: “Edin Dzeko and I had teammates like Zvjezdan Misimovic, Christian Gentner, Josué, Makoto Hasebe and all the others. You need coordination to create situations in front of the goal.”
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What he also likes about Weghorst: “He’s not one who just waits for the balls in front,” said Grafite, “and I like it when a striker also works for the team.” With this special quality, he is comparable to top goal getters like Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski, Atletico’s Luis Suarez or Chelsea’s Olivier Giroud. And how much graffa is in Wout? “Difficult to compare,” said the ex-Wolfsburg, “back then, like almost all the teams, we played in the 4-4-2 system, today VfL and others tend to play with wingers.”
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The top scorer in the Bundesliga history of VfL Wolfsburg:
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Wolfsburg legend Roy Präger is in 11th place with 24 VfL Bundesliga goals.
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20 or more goals in a Bundesliga season – apart from Grafite, only Edin Dzeko (26 in the championship season, 22 a year later) has achieved that at VfL. Weghorst came to 17 (in his first VfL year) and 16 (in the preseason). Now it looks like the Dutchman will crack his record. “But it will be more difficult”, suspects Grafite, “because VfL is now up there, the opponents will play differently against Wolfsburg and will be more attentive.” That’s why it’s “a little too early to talk about the Champions League, because the competition is always fierce in the Bundesliga, there are many top teams. But if VfL continues to play like this, they can do it.”
And if Weghorst continues to score like this, Grafite’s 28-goal record may even be in danger. Is he afraid of it? “No,” says today’s TV expert with a laugh, “I wish Wout as many goals as possible!”
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