Seriously... what the hell was he thinking?

"You picked a fine time to leave us, Magath."

If there truly is a God, the away fans will break out in a divine, unexpectedly twangy chorus of this altered lyric should Wolfsburg fall at red-hot Stuttgart this weekend.

The Volkswagen boys, three points up on second place Bayern Munich and with another three teams within five as they chase their first ever Bundesliga crown, have just watched manager Felix Magath conclude a deal to take over at league rivals Schalke four games from the finish line.

As if the timing wasn't awful enough as is, the players also have heard their coach explicitly say he wasn't buying into such things as club loyalty. Ordinarily, I'd applaud Magath for forthrightness, but yeeeeee-ikes... right now?!? That speech couldn't have waited four rounds?

This title stretch was already going to be hard enough. Now, from a mentality standpoint, it almost looks downright implausible. Apart from fourth place chaser Stuttgart, Wolfsburg still has an away derby with Hannover 96, as well as visits from the dangerous duo of Borussia Dortmund and final day opponent Werder Bremen.

And now, the precious belief that got Wolfsburg to the edge of glory as of yet unseen at the club has taken some harsh body blows. If they can catch their breath in time to claim the prize, I will be utterly dazzled.

Seriously... what the hell was Felix Magath thinking?


- Greg Seltzer