VFL Wolfsburg picked up a 1-0 victory against Moenchengladbach in its own stadium Sunday while waiting for Stefan Effenberg to be ready to play.

　　Bulgaria's Martin Petrow scored the goal in the 67th minute in the Bundesliga (Germany's top soccer division) match, with a blast from 20 meters deflected into the cage, to even Wolfsburg's record at one win against a loss.

　　Werder Bremen also gained a 2-1 triumph Sunday when Hamburg goalie Martin Pieckenhagen let the gamewinner slip through his legs in the 49th minute.

　　The signing of Effenberg, the former Bayern Munich star, stunned the league when it was announced Friday since the negotiations were conducted in secrecy. He will be ready to play next week against Bielefeld.

　　Wolfsburg had better scoring opportunities than Moenchengladbach, which hasn't recorded a goal yet, but its midfielders flashed few ideas, which will be Effenberg's job.

　　"I had a lot of success with the Bayern but that's the past. Our goal in Wolfsburg has to be to shake up the Bundesliga a little," said Effenberg, who led Munich to the Champions Cup title two years ago.

　　Effenberg is widely reported to be earning around 2.5 million euros (US$2.5 million) for the season at Wolfsburg, far more than Austria Vienna and several other clubs he talked with were willing to shell out.

　　Effenberg joins a club with some talent that's usually finishes in the table's middle ground.

　　Bremen was outplayed at home in front of 32,000 spectators at Weserstadion after Greek newcomer Angelso Charisteas scored the team's first goal in the ninth minute.

　　Hamburg then gained the 20th minute equalizer on Tomas Ujfalusi's header, the first Bundesliga goal for the Czech in 50 matches, before Pieckenhagen misplayed the attempt by Holger Wehlage.