Latest news with #DavidMollerWolfe
BBC News
5 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
'It's pretty cool to have that surname'
New Wolves left-back David Moller Wolfe says it was "meant to be" that he joined the 23-year-old became Vitor Pereira's third signing of the summer over the weekend when he completed his £10m move from AZ Alkmaar, with his moving following the arrivals of Jhon Arias and Fer only is Wolfe sharing a name with the symbol on the club's badge, he also has an image of the animal tattooed on his arm."I felt incredibly wanted from the second I talked to Domenico [Teti] and the second I talked to the coach. Obviously, the Premier League is a big, big league, especially also in Norway," he told club media after signing."It's the biggest league that people watch, so when a Premier League club came in, and Wolverhampton came in for me, I was extremely keen on joining."Personally, I think it's pretty cool to have that surname and then to play for Wolverhampton."Me and my brothers have actually joked a little bit about it a couple of years ago, and now it is turning into a reality. I think it was meant to be."Wolfe made 92 appearances for AZ Alkmaar, scoring four times and providing 10 assists, and when asked what he will bring to the team, he said: "I'm an extremely hard-working player that can run up and down the left side for 90 minutes straight."I give a lot of energy to the team, and I always do my best to help the team."I'm very confident. I think I have the qualities to play in the Premier League and to deliver and to perform. Also here, I will play as a wing-back, so that means I can have even more freedom to go on offensive runs, so I can't wait."
New York Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Arsenal Wenger, James Trafford and the players and managers destined for clubs… because of their names
Nominative determinism, i.e. the theory that people gravitate towards jobs or activities that reflect their name, is a thing. Researchers once found that people called Dennis or Denise were more likely to gravitate towards dentistry (this is genuine). It's not a universal truth. Someone called Louise Baker isn't necessarily destined to wear chef whites for a living. Likewise, Tony Dull doesn't have to become an accountant. Advertisement But when Wolves signed David Moller Wolfe last week and James Trafford decided to join Manchester City, they became the latest quirks in football's history of throwing up ironically placed players. Trafford will not only return to the city that houses the shopping mall the Trafford Centre or the Trafford Park area, but also, of course, Old Trafford, i.e. the home of City's greatest rivals. It's a bit like someone called James Park being in goal for Sunderland. He becomes the second goalkeeper in Manchester whose surname shares the name with a park in the city. Heaton Park, which recently hosted about 300,000 people across five glorious Oasis homecoming gigs, was named after Manchester United goalkeeper Tom Heaton in honour of his contribution to the club since he signed in 2021 (three appearances and counting). This is not true; the Heaton Hall estate dates back centuries, but hopefully you believed that for a second. Of course, Manchester United do have a young player named after them — Kobbie Mainoo. Or at least, to those fans who use Man U as a pejorative when referring to the club. The most shocking example of a rival's home in a player's surname, though, has to be the man we know as Barcelona legend Gerard Pique, or to give him his full name, Gerard Pique Bernabeu. The Bernabeu, of course, is the name of rivals Real Madrid's home ground. However, the Bernabeu name is certainly no source of shame for Pique; his grandfather Amador Bernabeu was formerly a vice-president at Barcelona. Still, it's pretty ironic that one of Real Madrid's ultimate hate figures shares a name with the club's home. Sometimes you see the name of a club and think it must be fate. That was certainly Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein's take when, in 1989, he met some chap called Arsene Wenger for the first time. Advertisement Wenger, then Monaco manager, attended an Arsenal match at their old Highbury ground, and Dein took him to a friend's house for dinner. 'I thought, 'This guy's something special, he's a bit different',' Dein later recalled to the BBC. 'Just then it was like a flash of lightning, I sort of saw in the sky: 'Arsene for Arsenal: it's destiny; one day he will be our manager'.' Three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups later, Dein's destiny worked out alright. Good job that he wasn't called Dave Wenger. Perhaps the most blatant case of managerial nominative determinism is Wolfgang Wolf managing Wolfsburg. It was only his second career job (after Stuttgarter Kickers), and he lifted Wolfsburg to what was then the club's highest-ever finish of sixth in 1999, lasting five years before he was kicked out of the pack. You might think Molineux was the next logical destination for Wolf, which sadly never happened. Wolves had already signed a namesake in 1994, though, in the form of Dutch defender John de Wolf. This wasn't due to a flash of lightning that then Wolves manager Graham Taylor saw in the sky; Taylor had been impressed by De Wolf when seeing him play for the Netherlands against England. 'I wrote a book in 1994 and said hopefully one day I'd play in England… the book came out in December and that was the month I joined Wolves,' De Wolf later told The Athletic. 'Also, the name of the club — my name! It just fitted.' De Wolf was an instant cult hero. 'De Wolf man' was a regular chant at Molineux when the burly defender with a lengthy golden mane would saunter up the field to take long throws. He's now been followed up by Wolves signing AZ Alkmaar's Norwegian left-back David Moller Wolfe for €11.5m (£10m). Wolfe told 'Personally, I think it's pretty cool to have that surname and then to play for Wolverhampton. Advertisement 'Me and my brothers have actually joked a little bit about it a couple of years ago, and now it is turning into a reality. I think it was meant to be.' There was only one club that recently retired midfield Salva Sevilla was supposed to play for, but sadly he only ever made the B team for the Spanish club. Surprisingly, he would go on to make his name at Sevilla's big rivals Real Betis. Ditto former Tottenham Hotspur defender Mike England, who managed Wales for eight years in the 1980s. Mat Sadler, though, did get it right when he played for Walsall, i.e. the Saddlers, not once but twice during his playing days, and is now the club's manager. Graham Potter served 'the Potters' with distinction during his playing days when he featured for Stoke City for three years. Christian Fuchs joined the right English club when he moved to Leicester City in 2015; Fuchs in German means fox. It's not just club names that elicit destiny for players; positions do too. What other position on the field would former Belgian player Mark De Man play other than defence? It just had to be true. In fact, De Man played all across the back line, as a full-back or a centre-back and was even known to pop into defensive midfield, playing for Anderlecht in Belgium and with Roda JC in the Dutch Eredivisie, all the while shadowing his opponents extremely closely. Opposition players knew exactly who was arriving when their team-mates shouted; 'De Man on!' In a less obvious but still fitting outcome, one-time Premier League player John Utaka simply had to play as an attacker, which he did pretty successfully for Portsmouth in the late 2000s, providing the cross that led to Portsmouth's winning goal in the 2008 FA Cup final. Some names are curious given their styles of play, like beanpole 6ft 7in striker Peter Crouch, or legendary Italian defender Claudio Gentile, a player famed for being an aggressive nutcase rather than a serene ball-player. Advertisement Names don't always forge a path of fate in football; Gareth Barry never played for Barry Town, while Isaac Success only played for Watford in England. But when it happens, it's pretty satisfying. (Top image — Illustration: Eamonn Dalton / The Athletic; Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images; Zohaib Alam – MUFC/Manchester United via Getty Images)
Yahoo
02-08-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Wolves sign Norway left-back Wolfe from AZ Alkmaar
Wolves have signed Norway international David Moller Wolfe on a five-year deal for a fee of about £10m from Dutch top-flight side AZ Alkmaar. The 23-year-old left-back is Vitor Pereira's third signing of the summer after the arrivals of Jhon Arias and Fer Lopez. "I'm so, so happy and so proud to be a part of Wolves, so I'm over the moon right now," the defender told the club website. "I felt incredibly wanted from the second I talked to Domenico [Teti, Wolves director of football] and the second I talked to the coach. "Obviously, the Premier League is a big, big league, especially also in Norway. It's the biggest league that people watch, so when a Premier League club came in, and Wolverhampton came in for me, I was extremely keen on joining." Wolfe has been capped 12 times by Norway and will join international team-mate Jorgen Strand Larsen at Molineux next season. "I have spoken to Jorgen," he said. "He only has positive things to say about the club, about the people in the club, about the fans and about the city. So I can't wait to see his face and train with him again." Wolfe could make his debut for Wolves when they take on Celta Vigo in their final pre-season fixture on Saturday, 9 August. Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page
BBC News
02-08-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Wolves sign Norway left-back Wolfe from AZ Alkmaar
Wolves have signed Norway international David Moller Wolfe on a five-year deal for a fee of about £10m from Dutch top-flight side AZ 23-year-old left-back is Vitor Pereira's third signing of the summer after the arrivals of Jhon Arias and Fer Lopez."I'm so, so happy and so proud to be a part of Wolves, so I'm over the moon right now," the defender told the club website. "I felt incredibly wanted from the second I talked to Domenico [Teti, Wolves director of football] and the second I talked to the coach. "Obviously, the Premier League is a big, big league, especially also in Norway. It's the biggest league that people watch, so when a Premier League club came in, and Wolverhampton came in for me, I was extremely keen on joining."Wolfe has been capped 12 times by Norway and will join international team-mate Jorgen Strand Larsen at Molineux next season."I have spoken to Jorgen," he said. "He only has positive things to say about the club, about the people in the club, about the fans and about the city. So I can't wait to see his face and train with him again."Wolfe could make his debut for Wolves when they take on Celta Vigo in their final pre-season fixture on Saturday, 9 August.
New York Times
01-08-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Wolves hopeful of closing deal to sign left-back David Moller Wolfe from AZ
Wolverhampton Wanderers are hopeful of closing a deal to sign left-back David Moller Wolfe from Dutch club AZ. A deal has not yet been completed, though Wolves are optimistic that a fee of €11.5million (£9.9m) would be enough to secure the arrival of the 23-year-old. If completed, a move for Wolfe would effectively see him replace Rayan Ait-Nouri in the Wolves squad after the Algeria international joined Manchester City in a €37m transfer in June. Wolfe would also link up with his Norway teammate Jorgen Strand Larsen, who joined the club permanently this summer after spending the 2024-25 campaign on loan at Molineux. Wolfe was a staple of AZ's squad last season, recording three goals and eight assists in 47 appearances in all competitions as AZ finished eighth in the Eredivisie and reached the round of 16 stage of the Europa League. After playing for Bergen Nord and SK Brann in his native Norway, Wolfe joined AZ in 2023 and has featured 92 times for the team. He made his senior international debut in a friendly against the Faroe Islands and has been capped 12 times, scoring once. As well as Strand Larsen's permanent move, Wolves have seen wingers Fer Lopez and Jhon Arias arrive from Celta Vigo and Fluminense respectively. In addition to Ait-Nouri on the outgoings front, forward Matheus Cunha left for Manchester United, while Pablo Sarabia has joined Qatari club Al Arabi. (Alex Bierens)
