Trash Chronicles

Twelve months ago few fans outside of the Bundesliga or Bosnia had heard much about striker Edin Dzeko- a bargain signing for Wolfsburg in the summer of 2007 from Czech side Teplice. Eight goals in his first season gave no indication of what was to come, but the 2008-09 season saw the Sarajevo-born forward explode onto the radar with a hatful of goals for both club and country.

With Milan selling Kaka to Real Madrid, the first player the Italians tried to buy to replace the Brazilian was Dzeko, the star of the Bundesliga season. Such was the rate that his reputation had grown over the past campaign that a fee of €26 million was being reported. The Italian giants were ultimately frustrated in their quest to sign him, but it seems that Dzeko is destined for bigger and better things.

The season began rather slowly for the Bosnian and in the first half of the campaign he scored five times. His best performance came in a 4-1 win over VfB Stuttgart in November when he netted twice. Even if the goals were not exactly flowing in the first half of the campaign, the relationship that was developing between Dzeko and Grafite was certainly beginning to blossom.

He provided seven assists in the first 17 games and the scene was set for a spectacular second half to the Bundesliga campaign, which was to culminate in Wolfsburg’s first ever league title triumph.

Dzeko instantly hit a rich vein of scoring form after the German winter break scoring in six consecutive games with doubles against both Bochum and Hertha Berlin, as Felix Magath’s side put together a fantastic run of results seeing them win ten games in a row.

A 5-1 home demolition of Bayern Munich in April saw Dzeko score twice against the Bavarians although it was strike partner Grafite who grabbed all the headlines with his ‘Goal of the Season’. Wolfsburg were on course for the title and the Bosnian's goals in the final five games of the season proved decisive.

His first hat-trick of the season came against Hoffenheim and he scored a total of ten goals in the last five games of the season, including another hat trick against Hannover and a brace against Borussia Dortmund. He finished the season with 26 goals from 32 games played. and, together with strike partner Grafite, who netted 28, became part of the most prolific strikeforce in Bundesliga history with 54 goals over the season, beating the previous record held by Gerd Muller and Uli Hoeness.

Deadly Duo: Dzeko & Grafite
Deadly Duo | Dzeko's & Grafite's goals brought the Greens glory

His goals however were not just reserved for his German club, though, with his country also benefiting from his predator's instinct. He scored in five successive international appearances as Bosnia have moved into second place behind Spain in World Cup qualifying group 5.

He netted another double against Estonia in a 7-0 win back in September and added a goal against both Turkey and Armenia. He then scored three more in the double-header with Belgium to give him impressive figures of seven goals in five games.

No wonder then that Milan headed the queue to sign him this summer although the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea have also been linked with him. He has committed his immediate future to the Volkswagen Arena, but if the goals continue to flow expect to see Edin Dzeko at one of the European giants before too long.