Effenberg opts for Wolfsburg

Former Germany and FC Bayern Munchen midfield player Stefan Effenberg has turned down an offer from FK Austria Wien and joined instead VfL Wolfsburg.

'Big challenge'

One-year deal
The 34-year-old has signed a one-year deal with the 1. Bundesliga club, who are based in a small northern town near Hanover that is home to the car manufacturer Volkswagen. Wolfsburg were promoted to the top flight for the first time in 1997 and have not left it since. They finished tenth in last season's Bundesliga standings.

Wien offer rejected
Wien's director of sport, Peter Svetits, had met Effenberg in Düsseldorf on Tuesday after the player said last week he would end his career if he failed to find a new club by Wednesday. However, the Vienna club missed out on his signature.

Debut pending
Effenberg will first be eligible to play for Wolfsburg when they visit DSC Arminia Bielefeld on 24 August. The club started secret negotiations with Effenberg after failing to sign another former Bayern player, Swiss international Ciriaco Sforza, who decided on Sunday to return to 1. FC Kaiserslautern.

Fond memories
Effenberg has fond memories of Wolfsburg as it was there that he helped VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach avoid relegation with a 2-0 victory in the final game of the 1997/98 season. After the final whistle a tearful Effenberg fell into the arms of Friedel Rausch, then the Mönchengladbach coach.

Three successive titles
Shortly afterwards he rejoined Bayern, inspiring them to three successive league titles and victory over Valencia CF in the 2001 UEFA Champions League final. Bayern released Effenberg at the end of last season but talks with Manchester City FC and Fulham FC in England, and Turkey's Besiktas JK and Galatasaray SK all came to nothing.

Controversial career
Bayern dropped Effenberg for two games last season following his comments that many of the unemployed in Germany were too lazy to look for work because jobless benefits were too high. Indeed, the playmaker has courted controversy throughout his career and was sent home from the 1994 FIFA World Cup team after gesturing at German fans as he was substituted amid boos following a poor performance in a group game against the Korean Republic in Dallas.

Brief comeback
The incident effectively ruined his international career, even if he did make a brief comeback to the national team, playing two games in September 1998 before deciding to concentrate on playing for Bayern.