# 2015–16 VfL Wolfsburg season

The 2015–16 VfL Wolfsburg season was the 71st season in the club's football history. In the previous season, Wolfsburg had finished in second place and qualified for the UEFA Champions League. Additionally, they won their first DFB-Pokal trophy in the club's history, defeating Borussia Dortmund in the final.
They opened their season by winning their first DFL-Supercup in the club's history by defeating Bayern Munich in the 2015 final on penalties following a 1–1 draw after 90 minutes.

## Players

    As of 30 August 2015
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | SUI | Diego Benaglio (captain) |
| 3 | FW | DEN | Nicklas Bendtner |
| 4 | DF | GER | Marcel Schäfer |
| 5 | DF | SUI | Timm Klose |
| 6 | DF | PER | Carlos Ascues |
| 7 | MF | ITA | Daniel Caligiuri |
| 8 | MF | POR | Vieirinha |
| 10 | MF | GER | Julian Draxler |
| 11 | FW | GER | Max Kruse |
| 12 | FW | NED | Bas Dost |
| 15 | DF | GER | Christian Träsch |
| 17 | MF | GER | André Schürrle |
| 18 | DF | BRA | Dante |
| 20 | GK | GER | Max Grün |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 22 | MF | BRA | Luiz Gustavo |
| 23 | MF | FRA | Josuha Guilavogui (on loan from Atlético Madrid) |
| 24 | DF | GER | Sebastian Jung |
| 25 | DF | BRA | Naldo |
| 26 | DF | BRA | Felipe |
| 27 | MF | GER | Maximilian Arnold |
| 28 | GK | BEL | Koen Casteels |
| 30 | MF | GER | Paul Seguin |
| 31 | DF | GER | Robin Knoche |
| 32 | FW | POL | Oskar Zawada |
| 33 | FW | GER | Sebastian Stolze |
| 34 | DF | SUI | Ricardo Rodríguez |
| 35 | MF | SUI | Francisco Rodríguez |
| 37 | DF | GER | Moritz Sprenger |

## Transfers
### In

| No. | Pos. | Name | Age | EU | Moving from | Type | Transfer window | Ends | Transfer fee |
| 6 | DF | Carlos Ascues | 23 | Non-EU | Melgar | Transfer | Summer | 2018 | €1.5m |
| 10 | MF | Julian Draxler | 21 | EU | Schalke 04 | Transfer | Summer | 2020 | €36m |
| 11 | FW | Max Kruse | 27 | EU | Borussia Mönchengladbach | Transfer | Summer | 2019 | €12m |
| 18 | DF | Dante | 31 | Non-EU | Bayern Munich | Transfer | Summer | 2018 | €4.5m |
| 28 | GK | Koen Casteels | 23 | EU | Werder Bremen | Loan return | Summer | | |
| 35 | MF | Francisco Rodríguez | 20 | EU | Zürich | Transfer | Summer | 2018 | |
| 38 | MF | Ismail Azzaoui | 17 | EU | Tottenham Hotspur | Transfer | Summer | | |

### Out

| N | Pos. | Name | Age | EU | Moving to | Type | Transfer window | Transfer fee |
| 9 | LW | Ivan Perišić | 26 | EU | Internazionale | Transfer | Summer | €18m |
| 10 | MF | Aaron Hunt | 28 | EU | Hamburger SV | Transfer | Summer | €3m |
| 14 | MF | Kevin De Bruyne | 24 | EU | Manchester City | Transfer | Summer | €75m |
| 3 | FW | Nicklas Bendtner | 28 | EU | Unattached | Contract terminated | Winter | N/A |

## Competitions

Win  Draw  Loss

### Bundesliga
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 6 | Mainz 05 | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 46 | 42 | +4 | 50 | Qualification for the Europa League group stage |
| 7 | Hertha BSC | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 42 | 42 | 0 | 50 | Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round |
| 8 | VfL Wolfsburg | 34 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 47 | 49 | −2 | 45 | |
| 9 | 1. FC Köln | 34 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 38 | 42 | −4 | 43 | |
| 10 | Hamburger SV | 34 | 11 | 8 | 15 | 40 | 46 | −6 | 41 | |
* 1 2 Since the winners of the 2015–16 DFB-Pokal, Bayern Munich, qualified for the Champions League based on league position, the Europa League group stage spot was passed to the sixth-placed team, Mainz 05; and the Europa League third qualifying round spot was passed to the seventh-placed team, Hertha BSC.

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 14 May 2016. Source: Bundesliga

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H |
| Result | W | D | W | D | W | L | D | L | W | W | W | L | W | D | L | D | L | L | D | L | W | D | L | W | W | L | D | L | D | L | L | L | W | W |
| Position | 5 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 |

#### Matches
### UEFA Champions League
#### Group stage

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | WOL | PSV | MUN | CSKA |
| 1 | VfL Wolfsburg | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 12 | Advance to knockout phase | — | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 |
| 2 | PSV Eindhoven | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 10 | Advance to knockout phase | 2–0 | — | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 8 | Transfer to Europa League | 2–1 | 0–0 | — | 1–0 |
| 4 | CSKA Moscow | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 4 | | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | — |

#### Knockout phase
##### Quarter-finals
## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Bundesliga | Bundesliga | DFB-Pokal | DFB-Pokal | DFL-Supercup | DFL-Supercup | UEFA Champions League | UEFA Champions League |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | SUI | Diego Benaglio | 30 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 20 | GK | GER | Max Grün | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | GK | BEL | Koen Casteels | 17 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||||
| 4 | DF | GER | Marcel Schäfer | 27 | 1 | 14+7 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+4 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | SUI | Timm Klose | 12 | 1 | 7+1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | PER | Carlos Ascues | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | GER | Christian Träsch | 38 | 0 | 23+6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7+1 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | BRA | Dante | 33 | 1 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | GER | Sebastian Jung | 16 | 0 | 5+6 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | BRA | Naldo | 40 | 2 | 29 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 |
| 26 | DF | BRA | Felipe | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | DF | GER | Robin Knoche | 13 | 1 | 9+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 34 | DF | SUI | Ricardo Rodríguez | 36 | 3 | 23+1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| 37 | DF | GER | Moritz Sprenger | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||||
| 7 | MF | ITA | Daniel Caligiuri | 40 | 3 | 20+9 | 2 | 1+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5+3 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | POR | Vieirinha | 37 | 2 | 22+4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5+3 | 1 |
| 10 | MF | GER | Julian Draxler | 31 | 8 | 19+2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8+1 | 3 |
| 17 | MF | GER | André Schürrle | 41 | 9 | 21+8 | 6 | 0+1 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 6+4 | 2 |
| 22 | MF | BRA | Luiz Gustavo | 30 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | FRA | Josuha Guilavogui | 42 | 2 | 26+4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8+1 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | GER | Maximilian Arnold | 44 | 3 | 22+9 | 2 | 1+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8+2 | 1 |
| 30 | MF | GER | Paul Seguin | 4 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | MF | SUI | Francisco Rodríguez | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | MF | BEL | Ismail Azzaoui | 2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||||
| 11 | FW | GER | Max Kruse | 43 | 9 | 28+4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 7+2 | 2 |
| 12 | FW | NED | Bas Dost | 31 | 10 | 14+8 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5+1 | 1 |
| 16 | FW | BRA | Bruno Henrique | 10 | 0 | 2+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 32 | FW | POL | Oskar Zawada | 5 | 0 | 0+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 33 | FW | GER | Sebastian Stolze | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players transferred out during the season ||||||||||||||
| 10 | MF | GER | Aaron Hunt | 3 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | BEL | Kevin De Bruyne | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | FW | DEN | Nicklas Bendtner | 19 | 4 | 4+9 | 2 | 0+1 | 1 | 0+1 | 1 | 0+4 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | CRO | Ivan Perišić | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Last updated: 14 May 2016 Source: Competitions

### Goalscorers

This includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.
| Rank | Pos. | No. | Nat. | Name | Bundesliga | DFB-Pokal | Champions League | Super Cup | Total |
| 1 | FW | 12 | | Bas Dost | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| 2 | FW | 11 | | Max Kruse | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| 2 | FW | 17 | | André Schürrle | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| 3 | MF | 10 | | Julian Draxler | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 |
| 5 | FW | 3 | | Nicklas Bendtner | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 6 | MF | 7 | | Daniel Caligiuri | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | MF | 27 | | Maximilian Arnold | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | DF | 34 | | Ricardo Rodríguez | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | MF | 8 | | Vieirinha | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | MF | 23 | | Josuha Guilavogui | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | DF | 25 | | Naldo | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | DF | 4 | | Marcel Schäfer | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | DF | 5 | | Timm Klose | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | FW | 9 | | Ivan Perišić | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | MF | 14 | | Kevin De Bruyne | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | DF | 18 | | Dante | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | DF | 31 | | Robin Knoche | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Own Goals | Own Goals | Own Goals | Own Goals | Own Goals | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 42 | 5 | 15 | 1 | 63 |