Wolfsburg's Edin Dzeko delighted to renew partnership with Grafite
Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko has spoken of his delight at being able to rekindle his successful partnership with fellow attacker Edinaldo Batista Libanio (‘Grafite’).
The 31-year-old Brazilian had struggled to make it in to the starting line up, but manager Steve McClaren has decided to reinstate him alongside Dzeko.
Since Grafite’s return to first-team action, he has teamed up with 24-year-old Dzeko to help Wolfsburg win their last three games and move up to sixth place in the Bundesliga. The Bosnian international could scarcely be happier about the move.
He told German sports channel Sports 1 that: “"Of course I am glad that Grafite is back as my strike partner. He has shown in the last few games how important he is. We did not play badly with just one striker. However, it makes the game easier for me if
I am not the opposition defence's sole focus. I now have more space to play."
The pair have now netted nine goals between them this campaign to build on the outstanding partnership they forged in the 2008-09 season.
That year, under Felix Magath, Dzeko and Grafite could not stop scoring and notched up 54 goals between them as Wolfsburg went on to win the league championship for the first time in their history.
Grafite was named the German Player of the Year for his efforts in that campaign and he also led the scoring charts for the season with 28 goals in 25 league games. He could not quite reach those same heights last term, as he netted just 11 goals. But with
four strikes to his name already this season, he may be on track to emulate his successes of two years ago.
Dzeko, meanwhile, has scored five goals in five matches so far and looks on course to reinforce his reputation as one of the deadliest marksmen in Europe.
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