Felix Magath Back at Wolfsburg

Magath back at Wolfsburg

Felix Magath's whirlwind week will culminate in a trip to Stuttgart on Sunday as his second stint at the Wolfsburg helm kicks off with a key encounter at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

Only 48 hours after leaving Schalke by mutual consent on Wednesday, Magath secured a return to the club he left two years ago to move to Gelsenkirchen.

Magath led the Wolves to an unexpected league title in 2009 but the club's fortunes have waned since his departure, and they head into tomorrow's match mired in the relegation zone after a run of four defeats in five since parting company with Steve McClaren last month.

Magath admits he needed no cajoling when the offer to return to the club came through.

"When I left Wolfsburg after the amazing success, there was a lot of sadness," he said.

"I was always happy here. Of course the contact from Wolfsburg a few days ago came as a surprise, but I did not have to consider it for a second," he said.

Magath has not had long to prepare the relegation-threatened Wolves for tomorrow's basement battle at another of his former clubs.

"Even if Stuttgart are on the rise, I am optimistic that we can win something there," he said.

"I know that this is not going to be an easy task. We are going to have to get to know each other and we want to get something straight away from this trip to Stuttgart."

Stuttgart have gone through seven coaches since Magath left them in 2004, having led them to second place in the Bundesliga and to several notable successes in the Champions League.

Three changes at the helm have been made this season alone, with Bruno Labbadia the current incumbent, and he is slightly worried about the changes at Wolfsburg.

"They may have the same players, but we don't know what kind of ideas Felix Magath has," he said.

"He had great success with Wolfsburg and he still knows the majority of the team.

"He is going to give them a spark and that is definitely going to be an interesting match."

Nevertheless, Labbadia will be concentrating on his own side and trying to win a fourth straight match.

"The three wins in a row have given us a good position in the battle for relegation and a fourth would be incredibly important," he said.

Tamas Hajnal is a slight doubt for Stuttgart due to a thigh strain, but Cacau could be back in the squad after opting not to undergo surgery on a niggling groin injury.