CM10: Life after Mario Gomez

[m_vaughan]

Arjen Robben wins best player prize

Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben has been named Bundesliga's player of the season for 2009-10.

Robben and Ribery helped Bayern regain the Bundsliga title

The Dutchman who moved to the club from Spanish giants Real Madrid in the summer of last season made a massive impact in his first season itself, scoring 19 goals and providing 12 assists as Bayern clinched the title with 5 games remaining.

"It was a fantasic season for me and the club. It is a big honour to win this award after just one season but the whole team deserves it because everyone played their part and did it well," said Robben.

"I now look forward to another successful season at Bayern and we want to do well in the Champions League as well."

VfB Stuttgart's Roberto Hilbert took second place ahead of another Bayern winger in Franck Ribery.

 

[m_vaughan]

August 2010 Update

Transfers
IN (1):
Batuhan Karadeniz (S) - €5.1m - from FC Koln
OUT (1):
Stefano Celozzi (FB/WB RL) - €2.9m - to Deportivo la Coruna

Results
01/08/2010 - Friendly
VfB Stuttgart 1-1 Karlsruhe
39 - Tarvajarvi
89 - Pogrebnyak
Karlsruhe seemed on course to repeating the result of last year when Tarvajarvi solitary strike won the game for them, but a late late strike from substitute Pavel Pogrebnyak earned VfB the draw.

08/08/2010 - DFB Pokal 1st Round
VfB Stuttgart 4-3 Sandhausen
28 - Suchy
45 - Ristic
66 - Ristic
81 - Schieber
89 - Khedira
90 - Ristic
90 + 3 - Hitzlsperger
Former Stuttgart striker Streto Ristic's hat-trick made life difficult for his former club but thanks to an injury time goal from captain Thomas Hitzlsperger, the defending champions progressed to the next round of the competition.

14/08/2010 - Bundesliga Match 1
Hannover 3-4 VfB Stuttgart
12 - Kuzmanovic
39 - Pogrebnyak
56 - Santos
58 - Suchy
79 - Mate
82 - Schlaudraff
88 - Pogrebnyak
Stuttgart were involved in another high scoring entertaining game and once again it required a late goal to get the win, but this time it was scored by Russian striker Pavel Pogrebnyak.

20/08/2010 - Bundesliga Match 2
VfB Stuttgart 2-0 Hertha Berlin
16 - Pogrebnyak
25 - Cacau
This was an important game for Markus Babbel's side as Hertha won their first game against Werder Bremen 4-0. But in the end first half goals from Pavel Pogrebnyak and Cacau handed Stuttgart the three points and back and back wins in the Bundesliga.

29/08/2010 - Bundesliga Match 3
Borussia Dortmund 0-0 VfB Stuttgart
VfB Stuttgart dropped their first points in the league but a draw was a fair result for these two evenly matched teams on the night. Nearly 83,000 fans were present at the magnificent Signal Iduna Park.

Bundesliga standings

Player Stats

September fixtures

VfB Stuttgart were drawn in Group E in the Champions League along with Spanish champions Valencia, Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven and Polish champions Lech Poznan. In the DFB Pokal they meet Hoffenheim in the second round.

The Hitzl Hammer does the trick in added time against Sandhausen​

 

[shantanu_rooney]

Not many huge signings by Stuttgart, but I am expecting some. It has been a good start to the new season, hopefully you can go on and win it this time.

 

[m_vaughan]

Those were just the transfer updates for August. I've previously signed a GK, a defender and an attacking midfielder.

Bayern have already moved to the top but we play them next. Although its too early in the season to conclude anything.

 

[shantanu_rooney]

Those were just the transfer updates for August. I've previously signed a GK, a defender and an attacking midfielder.

Bayern have already moved to the top but we play them next. Although its too early in the season to conclude anything.

Oh yeah just saw those Transfers just now, and nice you have rejected offers for your key players. Match against Bayern would be a cracker of a match but as you said wont decide the season but a win over the Champions will really boost the morale and confidence of the team.

 

[m_vaughan]

September 2010 Update

Results
11/09/2010 - Bundesliga Match 4
Bayern Munich 1-0 VfB Stuttgart
21 - Ribery
An early season top of the table clash and Bayern came out deserved victors here as Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben showed once again why they are two of the very best footballers on the planet.

15/09/2010 - Champions League Group E Match 1
Valencia 1-2 VfB Stuttgart
25 - Kuzmanovic
49 - Villa
88 - Sararer
VfB were on course to earning what would be seen as a vital point at the Mestalla, but a late strike from substitute Sercan Sararer earned them all three points.​

18/09/2010 - Bundesliga Match 5
VfB Stuttgart 2-1 Wolfsburg
45 - Martins
78 - Pogrebnyak
87 - Khedira
A second half comeback saw the Swabians extract revenge for their Liga Pokal defeat and also regain second spot in the standings. Obafemi Martin's cracking overhead kick had given the visitors the lead at the stroke of half time.

21/09/2010 - DFB Pokal 2nd Round
VfB Stuttgart 1-0 Hoffenheim
18 - Pogrebnyak
Pavel Pogrebnyak's solitary strike seperated the two sides in this second round DFB Pokal encounter. The Russian rising above the Hoffenheim defence to head the ball home.

25/09/2010 - Bundesliga Match 6
Nurnberg 1-2 VfB Stuttgart
23 - Tasci
25 - Charisteas
57 - Schieber
Angelos Charisteas fine strike had equalised for the hosts after Serdar Tasci's opening goal but hot prospect Julian Schieber came off the bench to ensure his side took all three points back to Stuttgart.

28/09/2010 - Champions League Group E Match 2
VfB Stuttgart 1-1 PSV Eindhoven
3 - Engelaar
52 - Schieber
After the win over Valencia, Markus Babbel's side were expected to win at home against PSV Eindhoven but the Dutch champions stunned them with an early goal and by producing a commanding performance overall. The hosts did level the scores though with Julian Schieber doing the trick once again
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Bundesliga standings

Champions League standings

Player Stats

October fixtures

Reports in the German press are linking Michael Ballack with a return to the Bundesliga. The German captain has recently struggled to hold a place in the Chelsea starting lineup and is considered to be uncomfortable with the fact that he is not playing in the Champions League this season. He is being linked with his former side Bayern Munich and also with Markus Babbel's VfB Stuttgart side.

Sercan Sararer stuns Valencia with a late winner​

 

[surendar]

When I saw the thread title, I never expected a footy story here because I read as " Mario Gamez " & hence I thought you were playing some classic game after super mario.

 

[m_vaughan]

October 2010 Update

Results
02/10/2010 - Bundesliga Match 7
VfB Stuttgart 1-0 FC Koln
7 - Hitzlsperger
Relegation threatened Koln gave VfB a tough time in this game and deserved atleast a draw for their showing. The Swabians will be much disappointed with their performance as they hardly tested goalkeeper Jonathan Sergeant. They did benefit from the early penalty which captain Thomas Hitzlsperger converted.

16/10/2010 - Bundesliga Match 8
SC Freiburg 1-1 VfB Stuttgart
46 - Schieber
78 - Cha
Stuttgart did not appear to have learnt from their mistake from the Koln game and Du-Ri Cha's second half strike punished them for exactly that and cost them two crucial points.

19/10/2010 - Champions League Group E Match 3
VfB Stuttgart 3-0 Lech Poznan
11 - Pogrebnyak
29 - Pogrebnyak
50 - Pogrebnyak
Pavel Pogrebnyak returned with a bang, scoring a fantastic hat-trick against Polish side Lech Poznan. The Russian who had been out of action with a foot injury was being missed by his side as they failed to create enough chances on goal during the time he was gone. One downside was the unnecessary sending off of Zdravko Kuzmanovic when his team were 3-0 up.

23/10/2010 - Bundesliga Match 9
VfB Stuttgart 1-0 MSV Duisburg
43 - Sararer
Stuttgart returned to winning ways in the league but only by a single Sercan Sararer goal, despite having as many as 10 shots on target as compared to Duisburg's 2.

29/10/2010 - Bundesliga Match 10
Schalke 2-1 VfB Stuttgart
13 - Pogrebnyak
19 - Valdivia
64 - Kuranyi
Former Stuttgart striker Kevin Kuranyi struck the decisive goal in the second half of a game that was other even stevens. Earlier Pavel Pogrebnyak's header had given the visitors the lead only for Jorge Valdivia to equalise six minutes later. The Swabians did enjoy majority of the possession but were once again penalised for converting their chances into goals.
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Bundesliga standings

Champions League standings

Player Stats

November

Expansion of VfB Stuttgart's Mercedes Benz Arena has now been completed. The stadium can now seat 60,344 people. And rising star Sercan Sararer has already attracted interest from the likes of Valencia, against whom he scored in the Champions League and Deportivo la Coruna.

Roberto Hilbert has returned to training after being out for just under 2 months​

 

[m_vaughan]

November 2010 Update 1

Results
03/11/2010 - Champions League Group E Match 4
Lech Poznan 2-1 VfB Stuttgart
7 - Schieber
38 - Alex
74 - Salcinovic
Polish champions and league leaders Lech Poznan once again shocked the world by registering a massive 2-1 win over VfB Stuttgart in the Champions League. The Poles were thumped 3-0 in the reverse fixture but this win brings them back in contention of making it through to the knock out stage. Stuttgart on the other hand drop down to second place and only a point ahead of Lech Poznan.

06/11/2010 - Bundesliga Match 11
VfB Stuttgart 3-1 Werder Bremen
3 - Naldo
20 - Sararer
44 - Gebhart
46 - Schieber
Stuttgart maintained their 100% record at home this season in the league with a comprehensive victory over Werder Bremen. The three young guns of the side finding the back of the net after Naldo's fortunate header had given the visitors an early lead.​

 

[m_vaughan]

Bayern are in a different league - Babbel

Markus Babbel's Stuttgart side have had a good domestic season so far with a perfect record at home and find themselves in second place in the standings.

However despite that the Swabian outfit find themselves already six points behind defending champions Bayern Munich.

And the manager himself believes that the only way Stuttgart or any of the other top sides can win the title is if Bayern falter.

"They [Bayern] are in a different league. Their financial power, squad depth, quality of players, and global appeal is far greater than any of other teams in Germany," said the 38-year old.

"We will continue to fight hard and try and do our best but the fact is we or any of the other teams want to win the title we have to hope that Bayern undergo a bad period of sufficient duration for us to catch up.

"And judging by how they have started this season and also how they played last season, its difficult to see how and when that might happen."

Babbel then concluded by saying that despite that perfect home record so far they cannot take their next opponents, Eintracht Frankfurt, lightly.

"Eintracht are one of the teams that caused us trouble last leason both at home and away. We beat them only once in three matches, which was in the Cup.

"Our record at home and their current poor form counts for nothing when we take the pitch on Saturday. It will be a fresh game and whoever wins will have to do so by playing the better football over the 90 minutes."

 

[m_vaughan]

Stuttgart look to maintain perfect home record

It's second versus fourteenth in the Bundesliga, as VfB Stuttgart host Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.

Ioannis Amanatidis celebrates his goal against Stuttgart in the corresponding fixture last season.

Die Roten have won all their league games at the recently expanded Mercedes Benz Arena so far this season and as a result find themselves in second place in the standings behind runaway leaders and defending champions Bayern Munich.

Their last win here was in the previous weekend when they outclassed Werder Bremen 3-1 with goals from Sercan Sararer, Timo Gebhart and Julian Schieber after Naldo had given the visitors an early lead.

Markus Babbel has admitted that catching Bayern will be difficult this season as the champions do possess a much superior squad which sets them well apart from the rest of the Bundesliga sides. However the 38-year old is looking forward to keep up with the chase and hope that Louis Van Gaal's side slip up sooner rather than later.

Their opponents this weekend are Eintracht Frankfurt, a team that has not a won a league game since the start of October. In sharp contract to last season when at the start of November, the Eagles were top of the Bundesliga table and had yet to lose a game. Infact it was in November when they lost the plot losing all three games that saw them drop to fourth as a result.

They also did beat VfB Stuttgart 2-0 at the Mercedes Benz Arena, becoming one of the few teams to take back all three points from the venue. And manager Michael Skibbe is trying use that to motivate his players and bring his team back to winning ways.

Stuttgart will have to do without the services of Sami Khedira and Roberto Hilbert. The latter has been out of action since the Bayern Munich game but did resume training this week. Eintracht Frankfurt meanwhile have a fully strength squad to choose from.

 

[m_vaughan]

Stuttgart edge five goal thriller

VfB Stuttgart held on to their perfect record at home this season following a thrilling 3-2 win over Eintracht Frankfurt at the Mercedes Benz Arena.

The Swabians had to take the lead on three seperate occasions to pick up maximum points and stay within striking range of league leaders Bayern Munich who beat Borussia Dortmund 1-0 on Friday.

Markus Babbel was without the services of key men Roberto Hilbert and Sami Khedira for this match and as result stuck with Sercan Sararer and Zdravko Kuzmanovic on the flanks with Peter Niemeyer getting a place in the center of midfield.

Markus Steinhofer was the only change in Eintracht Frankfurt's lineup which had a full strength squad at its disposal.

The visitors were looking for their first win in five matches in the league and came close to taking the lead the opening few minutes when Vahid Hasmehian rattled the Stuttgart crossbar with his shot from just outside the box.

However it was Serbian international Zdravko Kuzmanovic who opened the scoring when he smashed in from close range after Christian Trasch's throw in was laid in his path by Cacau.

Hasmehian's header ten minutes late drew the visitors level though and the veteran Iranian striker could have given his side the lead a few minutes but his shot was well saved by Costel Pantilimon at the near post.

Timo Gebhart that took advantage of some really shoddy defending from Eintacht Frankfurt by firing in a shot from the right hand side into the top corner.

Pavel Pogrebnyak then found himself in acres of space and pretty much one on one with keeper but his shot went on the wrong side of the goal post.

Then just at the stroke of half time, Benjamin Kohler's cross from the left found found Primin Schwegler in the middle and the Swiss midfielder headed the ball back into the center for Ioannis Amanatidis to head home from close range. In the second half Eintracht were awarded a penalty but Hasmehian's shot was weak and fell straight into the hands of Pantilimon.

However it was a Pierre De Wit own goal that settled the tie when the midfielder failed to handle a cross from Cacau ending up putting the ball into the back of his own net.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfB0R78SZgE

 

[m_vaughan]

Barcelona eager to snap up Stuttgart whiz-kid

Spanish side FC Barcelona are rumoured to be preparing a ?10 million swoop for VfB Stuttgart winger Sercan Sararer.

The 20-year old only joined the Swabian side this summer from second division side SpVgg Greuther Furth for ?1.2 million. He was born in Nurnberg, Germany but is of Spanish decent.

Barcelona scouts are said to have been following the player for a while now even before he made the move to the Mercedes Benz Arena. The Catalans could have signed him in the summer but apparently they thought he was still not ready.

However his impressive displays for Stuttgart in the German competitions and in the Champions League where he scored a sensational winner against Valencia at the Mestalla appear to have changed Barcelona's opinion.

It will be interesting to see if the Spanish side actually sign the player in January, because should he do so, he will be cup-tied for the Champions League matches. Stuttgart will also be looking for a higher price if they have to let go of their rising star in mid-season. Therefore it is believed that while Barcelona are looking to clinch the deal as soon as possible, the transfer will take place next summer.

 

[surendar]

Hopefully, his high price which is expected would worth his performance. Top class effort with this story as usual.

 

[m_vaughan]

November 2010 Update 2

Results
13/11/2010 - Bundesliga Match 12
VfB Stuttgart 3-2 Eintracht Frankfurt
7 - Kuzmanovic
30 - Hashemian
34 - Gebhart
45 - Amanatidis
53 - De Wit (og)
Stuttgart squandered their lead twice and almost ended up going one down themselves but Vahid Hashemian's penalty was saved by Costel Pantilimon and then an own goal from Pierre De Wit handed the Markus Babbel's side the three points.

20/11/2010 - Bundesliga Match 13
Arminia Bielefeld 1-1 VfB Stuttgart
17 - Gebhart
80 - Katongo
While VfB have been winning at home, they have also been dropping points away and this continued as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Arminia Bielefeld. And once again it was a late strike that punished them with Zambian Christopher Katongo finding the back of the net this time around.

23/11/2010 - Champions League Group E Match 5
VfB Stuttgart 2-2 Valencia
1 - Manuel Fernandes
7 - Pogrebnyak
13 - Vicente
18 - Schieber
All four goals were scored inside the opening twenty minutes with Manuel Fernandes scoring the first of them in just 45 seconds from kickoff. With PSV beat Lech Poznan in the other game, Valencia's qualification has been guaranteed while Stuttgart need a point from their last game to join the Spanish side in the knockout stages.

28/11/2010 - Bundesliga Match 14
VfB Stuttgart 2-2 Bayer Leverkusen
26 - Derdiyok
49 - Derdiyok
55 - Tasci
90 - Pogrebnyak
Bayer Leverkusen have become draw-masters off late but they stunned Stuttgart with great aggression and Eren Derdiyok repaid his manager's faith by scoring a brace that appeared to have put the visitors en route to victory. But a brave comeback from Stuttgart, completed by Pavel Pogrebnyak's last-gasp strike saw the honours shared at the Mercedes Benz Arena.
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Bundesliga standings

Champions League standings

Player Stats

December Fixtures

A point in the final group game of the Champions League will ensure Stuttgart's progress to the first knock-out round. Incidentally fellow Bundesliga side Bayern also need a point to qualify from their group. Meanwhile Sami Khedira has extended his contract with the club till 2014.

Stuttgart celebrate their late late equaliser against Bayer Leverkusen​