CM10: Life after Mario Gomez

[m_vaughan]

December Update

Results
03/12/2009 - UEFA Europa League Group G Match 5
VfB Stuttgart 3-0 Maccabi Haifa
38 - Pogrebnyak
47 - Marica
82 - Pogrebnyak
Stuttgart progressed to the next stage of the competition following a comfortable victory over Maccabi Haifa of Israel. Both the strikers scored but the performances of Aleksandr Hleb and Roberto Hilbert on either wing that made the difference.

06/12/2009 - Bundesliga Match 15
VfB Stuttgart 0-0 Werder Bremen
After their winning run in the league had been ended by Bayern Munich, VfB Stuttgart were looking for all three points in this game, but had to settle for a draw. Considering Bremen's form this season and the fact that this was a home game for the Swabians, it could be seen as a disappointing draw but in reality Bremen played really well and could have taken all three points themselves.

13/12/2009 - Bundesliga Match 16
Nurnberg 0-4 VfB Stuttgart
11 - Hitzlsperger
46 - Tasci
86 - Kuzmanovic
88 - Khedira
Stuttgart destroyed Nurnberg on their own ground and could have actually scored a couple more had it not been for goalkeeper Raphael Schafer. Captain Thomas Hitzlsperger led from the front and was duly named man of the match.

17/12/2009 - UEFA Europa League Group G Match 6
Galatasaray 1-0 VfB Stuttgart
13 - Baros
Stuttgart had already sealed qualification from their group but top spot was still up for grabs. Unfortunately Markus Babbel's side were beaten by the Turkish outfit thanks to Czech international Milan Baros' first half scorcher.

19/12/2009 - Bundesliga Matchday 17
VfB Stuttgart 2-0 Freiburg
57 - Kuzmanovic
62 - Cacau
Stuttgart moved upto to forth place with a 2-0 win over Freiburg as the first half of the season drew to a close before the winter break. Zdravko Kuzmanovic and Cacau getting on the scoresheet for Die Roten.

Bundesliga standings

Europa League standings

Player Stats

January Fixtures

VfB Stuttgart have drawn Dinamo Bucharest in the round of 32 of the Europa League and Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-finals of the DFB-Pokal.​

 

[shantanu_rooney]

Great, month for you. 4th in the League and just 8 points behind the leaders and also well in the quarter finals of the Europa League, Thats a decent season so far.

 

[m_vaughan]

VfB sign Czech midfielder

VfB Stuttgart have made their first signing of the January transfer window in the form of 21-year old defensive midfielder, Marek Suchy from Slavia Prague.

Suchy, who can also play in defence, was unveiled at the Mercedes Benz Arena today by sporting director Horst Heldt and VfB head coach Markus Babbel.

"I am delighted to have signed for Stuttgart. They are one of the best teams in Germany with a strong squad, good management, excellent stadium and passionate fans," said Suchy.

"I have always wanted to play in the Bundesliga and now I have got the opportunity. I was encouraged by Jan Simak to make this move and I look forward to playing with him and the other players here."

Babbel welcomed the signing but admitted that the 21-year old could take some time before being drafted into the first team.

"Our scouts had been following Suchy for a while now and I thought we needed another holding midfielder. He will play first for our reserves team so that he can adapt to the football here in Germany but I am sure with his talent he will very soon be playing for the first team," said the trainer.

Suchy made 107 appearances for Slavia Prague and has won the Gambrinus Liga twice. He was part of the Czech side that lost to Argentina in the 2007 U-20 World Cup final. He was also voted the most promising young player in 2006.

 

[m_vaughan]

January Update​

Transfers
IN (1): Marek Suchy DM/DC - ?3.7m - from Slavia Prague

Results
16/01/2010 - Bundesliga Match 18
VfB Stuttgart 1-0 Mainz
13 - Pogrebnyak
The scoreline might fool you but VfB dominated this game throughout but managed just the one goal. The home side had 12 shots on target while Mainz managed just one.

23/01/2010 - Bundesliga Match 19
Hertha Berlin 0-3 VfB Stuttgart
16 - Pogrebnyak
24 - Pogrebnyak
62 - Kuzmanovic
Pavel Pogrebnyak grabbed a fantastic brace but had to be substituted at half time because of a injury which thankfully for VfB did not turn out to be serious. Zdravko Kuzmanovic scored the other goal.

30/01/2010 - Bundesliga Match 20
VfB Stuttgart 3-1 Borussia M'gladbach
6 - Pogrebnyak
39 - Hleb
69 - Neuville
89 - Pogrebnyak
Stuttgart stormed to a 2-0 lead in the first half but Borussia Monchengladbach came back into the game thanks to Oliver Neuville's header. Red hot Pavel Pogrebnyak sealed the game late on with his second of the game, fifth of the month and sixthteenth in the Bundesliga this season. In total he has already amassed 22 competitive goals for VfB this season. Mario Gomez who??

Bundesliga standings

Player stats

February fixtures

 

[m_vaughan]

February Update

Results
06/02/2010 - Bundesliga Match 21
Eintracht Frankfurt 1-1 VfB Stuttgart
42 - Amanatidis
78 - Hleb
Alexander Hleb saved the day for Stuttgart with a late second half goal after Ioannis Amanatidis had given the hosts the lead.

10/02/2010 - DFB-Pokal Quarter Final
VfB Stuttgart 2-0 Eintracht Frankfurt
34 - Khedira
44 - Schieber
Second meeting between these two teams in a span of four days and this time it was for a place in the last four of the DFB-Pokal. And in the end it was Stuttgart who progressed despite playing a fairly second string side.

13/02/2010 - Bundesliga Match 22
VfB Stuttgart 1-0 Koln
39 - Cacau
Both goalkeepers were at their best in this game and deserved a clean sheet but only Jens Lehmann was able to achieve that as Cacau's solitary strike made the difference in the end. The Brazilian born German international was awarded man of the match as well.

18/02/2010 - Europa League Round of 32 1st Leg
VfB Stuttgart 1-2 Dinamo Bucharest
35 - Niculae
42 - Cacau
68 - Bratu
Stuttgart were stunned at home by Dinamo Bucharest in this first leg and the German side have only themselves to blame as they completely switched off in the second half. They faced an uphill task in Romania.

20/02/2010 - Bundesliga Match 23
Hannover 0-2 VfB Stuttgart
29 - Cacau
90 - Pogrebnyak
Cacau's good goalscoring form continued as Stuttgart moved to second in the standings with a win against Hannover.

25/02/2010 - Europa League Round of 32 2nd Leg
Dinamo Bucharest 0-2 VfB Stuttgart
12 - Kuzmanovic
54 - Khedira
Stuttgart completed a sensational comeback by winning this tough away game by the required number of goals to progress to the last sixteen of the competition. Kuzmanovic's scorcher opened the scoring but it was Sami Khedira who sealed the game with a header in the second half.

27/02/2010 - Bundesliga Match 24
VfB Stuttgart 0-0 VfL Bochum
Before the game Stuttgart boss Markus Babbel blasted the Bundesliga organizers for not giving teams involved in the Europa League a minimum two day break. And he would have been even more furious after his team failed to score against Bochum despite having several chances. And to make matters worse, Roberto Hilbert limped out of the game with a hip strain that is expected to keep him out for a couple of weeks.

Bundesliga standings

Player Stats

March fixtures

VfB Stuttgart have drawn Heerenveen in the Europa League round of 16 and surprise package Kaiserslautern in the DFB-Pokal semi-final.

Sami Khedira's goal completed an incredible comeback for Stuttgart in the Europa League​

 

[shantanu_rooney]

Last 2-3 months have been great for club. You have moved in the second position in the league and also in the Round of 16 in the Europa League. Still 10 pts behind Munich but if they lose 2-3 games then the title might be in sight.

Pavel Pogrbnyak is having dream season in Germany and surly many English club's would be eying him next season.

 

[m_vaughan]

Well I am having some issues with injuries at the moment. Hleb was out for a while, followed by Hitzlsperger and now Hilbert is not fit enough. These three have been my most consistent performers with average match ratings of 7+.

And Bayern are in a league of their own this season. After their slow start they just pulled away. Champions League spot remains my aim for which I've finish no lower than third. Schalke are 3rd currently but I am more scared of Wolfsburg as their recent form has been very good. We play both this upcoming month so it could go a long way to decide who qualify for the Champions League next season.

Obviously I'll prefer second as it guarantees direct entry to the group stages after the heartbreak of losing to Shakhtar in the playoffs this season.

Pogrebnyak has been incredible indeed although scored just one this past month.

Thanks for your comments.

 

[m_vaughan]

March Update

Results
06/03/2010 - Bundesliga Match 25
Borussia Dortmund 1-1 VfB Stuttgart
21 - Pogrebnyak
64 - Kehl
Stuttgart were probably slighter better in this game but few can argue with the fact that a draw was the best result. Thomas Hitzlsperger made his return from injury when he came as a substitute in the second half.

11/03/2010 - Europa League Round of 16 1st Leg
Heerenveen 1-2 VfB Stuttgart
39 - Sibon
61 - Pogrebnyak
89 - Pogrebnyak
Second half goals from Pavel Pogrebnyak handed VfB a big win over Dutch side Heerenveen and in the driver's seat for progressing into the quarter-finals.

13/03/2010 - Bundesliga Match 26
VfB Stuttgart 1-1 Bayer Leverkusen
1 - Helmes
89 - Hitzlsperger
Thomas Hitzlsperger scored a late equaliser to grab a point for his team in this Bundesliga encounter after Patrick Helmes had given Leverkusen the lead within the first minute of play.

18/03/2010 - Europa League Round of 16 2nd Leg
VfB Stuttgart 2-2 Heerenveen
27 - Kalou
51 - Hitzlsperger
64 - Elyounoussi
87 - Cacau
Heerenveen faced an uphill task in this second leg but had nearly found their way back before a late goal from Cacau gave VfB a 4-3 aggregate win.

20/03/2010 - Bundesliga Match 27
VfB Stuttgart 2-2 Schalke
20 - Jones
49 - Jones
54 - Schieber
75 - Pogrebnyak
Much to the annoyance of Markus Babbel, Stuttgart's thursday-saturday fixtures continued and the German trainer was without six first team players for this game. However after going down 2-0 the home side salvaged a draw thanks to goals from Julian Schieber and Pavel Pogrebnyak.

24/03/2010 - DFB-Pokal Semi Final
Kaiserslautern 2-4 VfB Stuttgart
22 - Fuchs
36 - Cacau
57 - Sam
70 - Schieber
79 - Schieber
90 - Schieber
Stuttgart continued to be without key players but thanks to a second half hat-trick from Julian Schieber booked their place in the final of this season's DFB-Pokal.

27/03/2010 - Bundesliga Match 28
Wolfsburg 0-1 VfB Stuttgart
44 - Cacau
Probably the biggest result of the month was this win over an in-form Wolfsburg in what was a battle for second place in the Bundesliga standings. Sami Khedira, Alexander Hleb and Christian Trasch's return to the team after injury could not have been any more timelier. All three of them had good game with Khedira providing the assist for Cacau's goal and winning man of the match.

Bundesliga standings

Player stats

April fixtures

VfB Stuttgart will face Galatasaray once again in Europe this season after they were paired in the quarter-finals of the Europa League. In the final of the DFB-Pokal, their opponents are none other than runaway Bundesliga leaders, Bayern Munich.

Stuttgart will once again be facing Galatasaray in the Europa League​

 

[m_vaughan]

April Update

Results
01/04/2010 - Europa League Quarterfinals 1st Leg
Galatasaray 2-1 VfB Stuttgart
31 - Baros
41 - Tasci
63 - Kewell
The Turks won the game but VfB Stuttgart would be happy with scoring the crucial away goal which made the second leg back in Germany very interesting indeed.

03/04/2010 - Bundesliga Match 29
VfB Stuttgart 2-3 Hoffenheim
17 - Hilbert
42 - Salihovic
47 - Schieber
66 - Obasi
79 - Obasi
Stuttgart were stunned at home by relegation threatened Hoffenheim as a brace from Chinedu Obasi won the game for the visitors. Stuttgart had fielded a near full strength side as well. With Bayern winning their game, they had clinched the title with five games still to go.

08/04/2010 - Europa League Quarterfinals 2nd Leg
VfB Stuttgart 0-0 Galatasaray
Despite creating several chances, VfB Stuttgart failed to find the back of the Galatasaray net and thus ended their run in Europe with Turks progressing to the semis.

11/04/2010 - Bundesliga Match 30
Hamburg 1-1 VfB Stuttgart
38 - Berg
58 - Hitzlsperger
Thomas Hitzlsperger's trademark hammerstrike in the second half earned Stuttgart a crucial point at Hamburg but fell to fourth place in the standings behind Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen.

16/04/2010 - Bundesliga Match 31
VfB Stuttgart 2-1 Bayern Munich
36 - Hitzlsperger
62 - Pogrebnyak
74 - Altintop
Bayern had already clinched the title but fielded a strong team for this game. Goals from Thomas Hitzlsperger and Pavel Pogrebnyak earned VfB three crucial points in the battle for second place in the standings which guaranteed automatic qualification to the CL group stages.

25/04/2010 - Bundesliga Match 32
Werder Bremen 0-3 VfB Stuttgart
17 - Cacau
51 - Hilbert
55 - Pogrebnyak
In what was actually an evenly fought game, VfB Stuttgart were rewarded for taking their chances with three points that saw them go back to second place in the standings and end the month on a high. The only downer was the sending off of Serdar Tasci.

Bundesliga standings

Player stats

May fixtures

VfB Stuttgart and Jens Lehmann have announced that the 40-year old former German international will not be extending his contract as he believes that he cannot handle the pressures of a club playing both in the league and in Europe. He will wait till the end of the season to decide on retirement or he might consider offers from one of the clubs not involved in European action.

Roberto Hilbert celebrates after scoring against Werder Bremen​

 

[m_vaughan]

May Update

Results
01/05/2010 - Bundesliga Match 33
VfB Stuttgart 2-0 Nurnberg
52 - Hitzlsperger
74 - Cacau
The Swabians picked up all three points against Nurnberg but with Wolfsburg also winning their game the battle for second place would now go till the final matchday.

08/05/2010 - Bundesliga Match 34
Freiburg 1-3 VfB Stuttgart
38 - Cacau
66 - Hilbert
78 - Idrissou
80 - Hleb
Mohamadou Idrissou's strike did make things a bit uncomfortable for Stuttgart fans but just for a couple of minutes before Alexander Hleb made it 3-1 to the Swabians which guaranteed them second place in the standings and direct entry into next season's Champions League group stage.

15/05/2010 - DFB-Pokal Final
VfB Stuttgart 4-0 Bayern Munich
3 - Khedira
6 - Pogrebnyak
13 - Pogrebnyak
74 - Khedira
Stuttgart stunned Bayern Munich to clinch the DFB Pokal in Berlin. Markus Babbel's side who finished 13 points behind Louis Van Gaal's in the Bundesliga had won their most recent game as well by 2-1, but destroyed them 4-0 this time, going 3-0 up inside the first 15 minutes.

Bundesliga standings

Player stats

A good season then for VfB Stuttgart as they finished second in the league and have qualified directly to the group stages of the Champions League this time. The gap between Bayern and the rest was quite large in the Bundesliga, but Stuttgart's 4-0 win over them in the final of the DFB-Pokal would boost their confidence ahead of next season.

Pavel Pogrebnyak topped the goalscoring charts in the Bundesliga with 21. The man whom he replaced at VfB Stuttgart, Mario Gomez, scored 10.

Stuttgart players celebrate after winning the DFB-Pokal​

 

[m_vaughan]

CHAMPIONS AROUND THE WORLD

Germany
Bundesliga: Bayern Munich
DFB-Pokal: VfB Stuttgart
DFB Liga-Pokal: Bayern Munich

Europe
Champions League: Manchester United
Europa League: Anderlecht
Super Cup: Shakhtar Donetsk

World
Club World Championship: Barcelona

Spain
Liga BBVA: Valencia
Copa del Rey: Sevilla
Super Copa: Barcelona

England
Premier League: Manchester United
FA Cup: Manchester City
Carling Cup: Manchester United
Community Shield: Manchester United

Italy
Serie A: Inter Milan
Coppa Italia: Sampdoria
Super Coppa: Inter Milan

France
Ligue 1: Marseille
Coupe de France: Marseille
Coupe de la Ligue: Toulouse

Portugal
Liga Sagres: Benfica
Taca de Portugal: Maritimo
Liga de Portugal: Porto
Supertaca de Portugal: Porto

Holland
Eredivisie: PSV Eindhoven
KNVB Cup: AZ Alkmaar
Johan Cruyff Shield: Heerenveen

Turkey
Super Lig: Fenerbahce
Turkiye Kupasi: Fenerbahce
Super Kupa: Fenerbahce

Belgium
Jupiler Pro League: Anderlecht
Cofidis Cup: Mechelen
Super Cup: Standard Liege

Greece
Super League: Olympiakos
Greek Cup: PAOK Salonika

Russia
Premier League: CSKA Moscow
National Cup: Dinamo Moscow
Super Cup: CSKA Moscow​

 

[m_vaughan]

June 2010 Update


Transfers
IN (1):
Costel Pantilimon (GK) - ?5m - from FC Timisoara
Sercan Sararer (AM RLC) - ?1.3m - from Greuther Furth

OUT (26):
26 players contracts not renewed including Jens Lehmann, Jan Simak, Timo Hammel and Bence Varga.

Jens Lehmann bids farewell to the Stuttgart fans​

 

[shantanu_rooney]

Great finish in the league, 2nd is really great. Pogrebynak had a great season to. Congrats for the Cup victory over Bayern it was an emphatic win.

Nice to see Manchester United doing the treble and showed they are the real Champions. Surprised to see Valencia winning the La Liga.

Great work sid, and cant wait for the new season. :hpraise

 

[m_vaughan]

Brazil crowned World Champions again

Brazil ended Switzerland's fairytale run to lift their sixth World Cup title at Johannesburg today.

Luis Fabiano's first half strike was enough to settle the tie as the Selecao who had suffered a 1-0 defeat to Honduras in the group stage proved once again why they are the most successful international side in the world.

The Swiss though did provide a good fight and had a few good chances to draw level but thanks to some bad luck and some excellent goalkeeping fro Brazil keeper Julio Cesar were unable to find the back of the net.

Fabiano had not scored a single goal in the competition and few would have been amazed by coach Dunga's decision to start him ahead of Manchester City's Robinho. But the Sevilla striker repaid his manager's faith in him by executing an elegant angled shot from just inside the Swiss penalty area and past goalkeeper Diego Benaglio.

"It is a great feeling to be world champions, one that cannot be described in words," said Fabiano after the game.

"I thank the manager for believing in me and giving me the opportunity in this important game and I am glad I was able to score the goal that won us the game.

"However the credit must to go the entire team who played well as a whole to get the result. Especially our goalkeeper Julio Cesar who was just unbeatable today."

The Samba boys have now won the three of the last five world cups and will be defending their crown in 2014 on their own soil.

 

[m_vaughan]

July 2010 Update

Results
14/07/2010 - Friendly
VfB Stuttgart 2-0 Blackburn Rovers
20 - Tasci
88 - Cacau
In the first game of preseason Markus Babbel's side emerged comfortable winners of Blackburn Rovers of England. Rising stars Manuel Fischer, Marek Suchy and Sercan Sararer were all handed starts for this game.

18/07/2010 - Friendly
VfB Stuttgart 1-1 Maritimo
33 - Hitzlsperger
42 - Olberdam
Costel Pantilimon made his debut when he came on as a second half substitute but his team had conceded the equaliser in the first half and failed to find a winner thereafter.

20/07/2010 - DFB Liga Pokal semi-final
VfB Stuttgart 3-1 Borussia Dortmund
23 - Lucas Barrios
36 - Pogrebnyak
48 - Pogrebnyak
77 - Pogrebnyak
The visitors took the lead through Lucas Barrios' stunning strike from 25 yards out but a hat-trick from Pavel Pogrebnyak sealed Stuttgart's passage into the final where they would be meeting VfL Wolfsburg who knocked out defending champions Bayern Munich.

24/07/2010 - DFB Liga Pokal final
VfB Stuttgart 3-5 Wolfsburg
32 - Pogrebnyak
33 - Dejagah
45 - Kuzmanovic
51 - Saglik
56 - Saglik
57 - Khedira
66 - Ziani
80 - Dejagah
It was an epic final at Leipzig with a total of eight goals scored. Unfortunately VfB ended on the wrong side of the scoreline and for new signing Costel Pantilimon it was a rude awakening of what to expect in the Bundesliga.

28/07/2010 - Friendly
Rayo Vallecano 0-1 VfB Stuttgart
22 - Schieber
VfB Stuttgart travelled to Madrid for their next season friendly and it was Julian Schieber's wonderful strike in the first half that made the difference between them and Rayo Vallecano at the Teresa Rivero stadium.

Player stats

August fixtures

Stuttgart have received and rejected offers for Pavel Pogrebnyak (Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool), Serdar Tasci (Bayern Munich) and Roberto Hilbert (Bayern Munich). Ciprian Marica has been placed on the transfer list after being involved in a training ground bust up.

Stuttgart will open the new Bundesliga season against Hannover and play Sandhausen in the first round of the DFB Pokal.

Wolfsburg playing Stuttgart in the DFB Liga Pokal final​