Schaefer stripped of Wolfsburg captaincy

VfL Wolfsburg defender Marcel Schaefer has been stripped of the captaincy by coach Felix Magath just days before the start of the new season. Wolfsburg, the 2009 Bundesliga champions, travel to Cologne for their league-opening match on Saturday but are still reeling from a 3-2 German Cup defeat to fourth division Leipzig last weekend. Wolves only narrowly avoided relegation from the Bundesliga last season and, after last Saturday's setback, Magath has taken the drastic step of replacing Schaefer as skipper in a bid to shake up the team. "He did very well last season, otherwise we would not have stayed in the league, but after the performance in the Cup I see myself forced to make changes within the team," said Magath. Wolfsburg's defence came in for heavy criticism after the defeat as Leipzig striker Daniel Frahn scored a first-half hat-trick, but the decision to strip Schaefer of the captaincy is a big surprise. Magath has yet to nominate a successor for Schaefer, a Germany international who won the last of his eight caps in August 2010.