VfL Wolfsburg has been an important part of the city for 80 years and continues to shape it. To mark the milestone birthday of the largest sports club, the city of Wolfsburg invited important personalities and companions to a reception at Wolfsburg Palace. The club, the city, Volkswagen, the fan scene and many committed partners looked back together on the past eight decades.

"VfL Wolfsburg has been one of the most important image bearers for the sports city of Wolfsburg for 80 years. The athletes are outstanding ambassadors for us. The sporting successes, for example at the Olympic Games, World and European Championships in numerous sports and disciplines, are closely linked to our city's history - as are the VfL footballers, whose national and international successes carry our reputation far beyond the city limits," emphasized Lord Mayor Dennis Weilmann.

Dennis Weilmann also gave a very personal insight. In this context, he recalled, among other things, the celebration of the German championship in May 2009 on Rathausplatz with the presentation of the championship trophy. Weilmann had helped organize the champions' reception at the time. "I particularly remember the expression on the faces of the people of Wolfsburg in front of the stage, which can be aptly described with the word 'pride'," emphasized the head of the city.

VfL Wolfsburg is also associated with the 1972 Olympic successes of Hildegard Falck-Kimmich, gold in the 800 meters, and Klaus Glahn, silver in judo. Other outstanding performances over the past 80 years include judoka Frank Wienecke and gymnastics ace Anja Wilhelm, as well as the field handball team. Of course, the DFB Cup victory in 2015 for the men and the triumphs in the Champions League, the championship and the cup for the VfL women will be remembered.

Countless titles

The countless titles at national and international championships, from armwrestling to wushu, from cheerleading to swimming, from fencing to gymnastics, should be emphasized. The achievements in popular and disabled sports as a whole and the commitment of the many volunteers in the club's 30 divisions also played an important role. "All of this clearly underlines that Wolfsburg has every reason to be proud of its VfL," summarized Lord Mayor Dennis Weilmann.

In a panel discussion entitled "Four icons of sport", former and current VfL Wolfsburg athletes gave fascinating insights into their active days. Among them were Stephanie Storp (shot put) and Phil Grolla (Paralympics participant in athletics) as well as Svenja Huth and Maximilian Arnold from the current VfL squad. VfL stadium announcer Georg Poetzsch moderated the quartet.

Background

VfL Wolfsburg was founded by eleven men and one woman on September 12, 1945 in a barrack on Reislinger Straße in Wolfsburg as a "people's sports and culture club" in order to create something new for people in the areas of sport and culture. A short time later, it was renamed the "Verein für Leibesübungen Volkswagenwerk". At this time, Wolfsburg had a population of around 15,000.