PROFILE: The striker has scored an incredible 13 goals in just 10 games for Wolfsburg since the turn of the year and is a key man as they aim for Europa League glory
When Wolfsburg were crowned Bundesliga champions in 2008-09, the question on everybody's lips was whether they could become long-term rivals to Bayern Munich.
The answer to that particular query initially appeared to be a negative one. Wolfsburg's title-winning campaign was followed by a mediocre 2009-10 season, with the Volkswagen Arena side even battling against relegation the year after. Not even the return of successful coach Felix Magath could turn their luck around and Wolfsburg appeared destined to become a mid-table team once more.
Yet things have changed in the past 18 months. With Dieter Hecking in charge, the Wolfe have become a force to be reckoned with again and they only narrowly missed out on qualification for the Champions League last term. This season they are second in the Bundesliga, and on Thursday they host Inter in the last 16 of the Europa League.
A key factor in their resurgence is their ability to attract high-profile names thanks to the backing of Volkswagen. First there was Brazil international Luis Gustavo in August 2013, then ex-Chelsea midfielder Kevin De Bruyne last summer, and this January World Cup winner Andre Schurrle also arrived from Stamford Bridge.
But the one Wolfsburg player who everybody is talking about right now is striking sensation Bas Dost.
The 25-year-old has been at the club since June 2012, but had been unable to make much of an impact in his first two seasons. At the start of the 2014-15 campaign he found himself third in the pecking order behind Ivica Olic and Nicklas Bendtner. Fast forward seven months, however, and the towering striker is his side's undisputed No.9, largely thanks an extraordinary run of form in 2015.
"I scored in our first game after the winter break against Bayern and that was a big confidence boost. I told myself to keep going after that and I have been able to keep it up so far," Dost told Kicker.
Since the turn of the year, Dost has netted an incredible 13 goals in 10 games in all competitions. Only Barcelona ace Lionel Messi has scored more goals in Europe than the Dutchman in 2015. The Argentine, however, has featured in five more games than Dost and his goal-to-game ratio of 1.2 is inferior to the the former Heerenveen man (1.3). Other hotshots such as Neymar, Harry Kane and Luis Suarez all have lower conversion rates, too.
What makes Dost's achievements all the more impressive is the fact that his goals did not come against small teams. The 1.96m attacker netted twice against Bayern, struck four times against Champions League participants Bayer Leverkusen and added two more versus Portuguese heavyweights Sporting Lisbon.
So what has prompted this upturn for a striker who, prior to his recent explosion, had only netted 14 times in his preceding 47 Bundesliga outings?
A closer look at the striker's career as a whole reveals a common trend. After earning himself a transfer from Jupiler League side Emmen to Eredivisie outfit Heracles in the summer of 2008, the striker also initially struggled to adapt to his new surroundings and often looked out of his depth. In time, though, Dost proved to be a fine addition and in his second season at the club he scored 14 goals in 34 appearances.
When he then moved to another bigger club, Heerenveen, the same pattern repeated itself. A difficult first year was followed by a superb second season in which he struck 32 times to win the Eredivisie top scorer award.
It came as no surprise that Dost was slow out of the traps at Wolfsburg, especially as a string of injuries forced him to miss 20 out of 34 Bundesliga games in 2013-14. Dost never gave up, though, and fought his way back into Hecking's plans.
The attacker does not possess the talent of a Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Cristiano Ronaldo or Messi, but he does have an attribute that makes him stand out and that's his unrivalled Torinstinkt - he sniffs out goals.
Out of his 27 shots in 13 Bundesliga outings this term, 20 have been on target and 13 resulted in a goal - all of them from inside the area. In comparison, fellow Bundesliga star Robert Lewandowski needed 74 shots for his 11 league goals, of which only 29 were on target. Suarez got 23 out of his 46 attempts on target, leading to seven goals in La Liga. Ibrahimovic has scored 12 goals in Ligue 1 from 37 shots on target out of a total of 70 attempts.
"His positioning is very strong and pretty much all his attempts are on target. A goalkeeper occasionally makes a save, but there's always a chance the ball will go in if he shoots," Wolfsburg assistant Ton Lokhoff commented to NOS.
This ruthlessness in front of goal makes Dost a force to be reckoned with, regardless of the opposition, and has earned him a provisional call-up for Netherlands' national side for the upcoming Euro 2016 qualifier against Turkey and the friendly versus Spain.
The striker's main objective for now will be firing Wolfsburg to a major trophy. Hecking's men may be unlikely to end Bayern's Bundesliga dominance as they trail the champions by 11 points, but they still have every chance of winning silverware in 2014-15.
Wolfsburg meet Freiburg in the quarter-finals of the DFB Pokal next month, but first up is the Europa League tie with Inter - and eliminating the Serie A side could very well open the door to European glory.
