Bundesliga Season Preview: VfB Stuttgart

Last season was one to forget for Stuttgart, but Armin Veh will not be dwelling on that and will be looking to make his Swabian side a lot more competitive this season.  With an injury-free season and Mario Gomez in attack, that should be easily achievable.

Things Can Only Get Better

Things didn’t go quite as planned for VfB last season and despite predicting that they wouldn’t defend their Bundesliga crown, trainer Armin Veh must have been shocked at the slump that affected his side and the fact that they slipped as low as 13th at one stage and were toying with the relegation zone.

Their Champions League adventure turned into a nightmare as they lost their first four matches and finished bottom of their group to make even Uefa Cup football an impossibility.  All in all the season was one to forget for the Swabians, but one achievement was the way they recovered towards the end of the season and inspired by the goals of Mario Gomez they climbed the table to finish 6th.  In fact they missed out on a Uefa Cup place by just two points.

Injuries and loss of form affected Stuttgart severely last season and they are due a bit of luck this time around as well as certain individuals stepping up their game.  Midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger and Mario Gomez were unavailable through injury for large periods, while new signings Raphael Schäfer and Ciprian Marica failed to live up to expectations.

The unfortunate Schäfer has been offloaded this summer having gone from being one of the most sought after German keepers to a laughing stock in the space of one season.  The Cup winner from Nürnberg was hardly recognisable in the VfB as errors saw the defence lose confidence in him and he has ultimately paid the price.

Stuttgart have turned to veteran Jens Lehmann in goal, but at 38 years old he is no spring chicken and it is a little bit of a gamble as to whether the player who lost his place at Arsenal is the one to bring security to the VfB defence.  The fact that captain Fernando Meira has also left to join Galatasaray will leave a hole in the defence, but the signing of Khalid Boulahrouz is intended to fill that gap.

‘The Cannibal’ as he was nicknamed during his time with Hamburg has a big reputation in Germany, but he failed to impress at Chelsea before being sent on loan to Sevilla.  He will be out to prove a few doubters wrong no doubt.  Stuttgart still have the solid Mathieu Delpierre and the impressive youngster Serdar Tasci as well as fullbacks Boka, Osorio, and Magnin, so they should be defensively sound.

The captain’s armband has been handed to German international Thomas Hitzlsperger and his drive from midfield will be needed to inspire those around him. 

Armin Veh will also be looking for the Gottlieb-Daimler Stadion to once again become the fortress it was during their Championship winning season.  VfB lost three times at home last season, but did inflict one of Bayern Munich’s two losses when they thumped them 3-1 in November.

The midfield has been boosted by the summer signings of Jan Simak and Martin Lanig, who were both highly impressive in the second division last season and who will be hoping to carry that form into the top flight.  Simak is an interesting case having previously left Hannover due to mental exhaustion/ depression.

A big plus for Stuttgart is the fact that they have held onto star striker Mario Gomez.  ‘Super Mario’ has assured the club that he is staying for one more season which is just as well because they couldn’t replace his goals if he were to leave this summer.  Ciprian Marica failed to impress last season scoring just twice, although he has looked impressive during pre-season.  The former Shakhtar Donetsk hit-man will be one to watch this season as he tries to prove himself in the Bundesliga.  

Coach: Armin Veh

Stadium: Gottlieb Daimler Stadion (55,896)

2007/08 Position: 6th

2007/08 Record: P-34 W-16 D-4 L-14 F-57 A-57 Pts-52

Players In: Jens Lehman (Arsenal), Khalid Boulahrouz (Chelsea), Clemens Walch (Salzburg), Martin Lanig (Greuther Fürth), Jan Simak (Carl Zeiss Jena)

Players Out: Fernando Meira (Galatasaray), Alexander Farnerud (Brondby), Andreas Beck (Hoffenheim), Raphael Schäfer (Nürnberg), Antonio da Silva (Karlsruhe)

Possible Line-Up: Lehmann- Magnin, Delpierre, Boulahrouz, Hilbert- Pardo, Khedira, Hitzlsperger, Simak, Marica, Gomez

Prognosis:

It’ll be a case of fingers crossed that things can’t go as bad as they did at the start of last season.  It was a severe case of Championship hangover at the Gottlieb-Daimler and the pressure told on VfB.  That pressure is gone, so hopefully they will be able to play with a little more freedom and panache this time around without the burden of the champions tag hanging around their necks.

There is still enough quality in the side to finish in the top three, but a Uefa Cup spot might be a more realistic target.   

Prediction: 5th

Mathew Burt