VfB Stuttgart [FM2006] (Bundesliga M9:Frankfurt v Stuttgart)

[m_vaughan]

Stuttgart announce Ranieri as coach

German side Vfb Stuttgart have named former Valencia coach, Claudio Ranieri, as their new manager on a two year deal. The 53 year old Italian takes over from Matthias Sammer who stepped down after just one season at the club.

"Ranieri has signed for two seasons with an option to extend the deal for another one," said a club spokesperson.

The Italian has never been in charge of a German club before and is excited about his new challenge.

"I've always considered the Bundesliga as one of the best leagues in the world. I am really happy to have got this oppurtunity, and I will try and do my best for Stuttgart," said Ranieri.

About the club he added:"Well they are ambitious, both the board members and the fans. It is one of the most well supported clubs in Europe, which is always a good thing. Also there is a good squad with some really talented and skillful players."

Ranieri will be looking for a better start than he did with his previous club Valencia.

"I had a tough time in Spain. Things werent working out, and results werent favouring us. Though I was very disappointed with the way it all ended, I did have some good moments working there."

During his previous spell at Valencia, Ranieri guided the club to victory in the King's Cup and a first qualification for the Champions League in his final season in charge.

He joined Atletico Madrid immediately after the Cup victory, but his tenure at the club was cut short when they went into administration during his first season in charge.

Ranieri then moved to take over at Chelsea in September 2000 after the departure of Gianluca Vialli.

Ranieri is expected to take Stuttgart to the Champions League, something that Sammer failed to do last season, and stepped down as a result.

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CURRENT STATUS:

RECORD:
Overall
Matches Played - 18
Matches Won - 10
Matches Drawn - 6
Matches Lost - 2
Top Goalscorer: Mario Carevic/Cacau/John Dahl Tomasson - 6

Official
Matches Played - 15
Matches Won - 8
Matches Drawn - 5
Matches Lost - 2
Top Goalscorer - Jon Dahl Tomasson - 5

COMPETITIONS:

Bundesliga:
4th (M:8, W:5, D:1, L:2, GF:16, GA:13, GD:+3, PTS: 16)
Top Goalscorer - Danijel Ljuboja - 4

DFB ligapokal:
Semi-Final (Lost)
Top Goalscorer - Cacau - 1

DFB Pokal
3rd Round
Top Goalscorer - Thomas Hitzlsperger/Mario Carevic/Cacau - 1

UEFA Cup
Group Stage
Top Goalscorer - Jon Dahl Tomasson - 2

 

[Bala]

Will Ranieri prove his worth atleast with Stuttgart? We can only keep our fingers crossed for now!

 

[m_vaughan]

Will Ranieri prove his worth atleast with Stuttgart? We can only keep our fingers crossed for now!

He did a decent job at Chelsea. Remember when he joined us, we were 17th in the league, and ended the season 6th. Lets face it, he is a manager who can turn average teams into good ones, but cant turn good ones into a championship winning sides.

 

[Bala]

Fair enough! Let us see where he takes Stuttgart to.

 

[m_vaughan]

Ranieri meets staff and players

Its day two of duty, and new manager Claudio Ranieri has met all his staff and some of the players. The remaining players are still on leave, and will resume pre-season training in about a week's time.

Here is the list of the staff working under Claudio Ranieri:


Asst Manager: Andreas Brehme (GER)

Coach: Eberhard Trautner (GER)

Coach: Jochen R?cker (GER)

Coach: Fausto Rossi (ITA)

Coach: Adriano Bardin (ITA)

Coach: Thomas Albeck (GER)

Physios:
Gerhard W?rn (GER)
Christian Kolodziej (GER)
Gerhard Egger (GER)

Scouts:
G?nther Sch?fer (GER)
Hermann Ohlicher (GER)
Bernd Martin (GER)
Hans-Peter Makan (GER)
Bernd F?rster (GER)
Markus Elmer (GER)
Herbert Briem (GER)
Karl Allg?wer (GER)

Secretary: Monika Eichler (GER)

Secretary: Marlinde Materne (ITA)

Claudio Ranieri gave a brief speech to his staff stating the importance of teamwork, unity, and bonding. Ranieri did speak in "his English", but his assistant coaches Fausto Rossi and Adriano Bardin, who will also act as his translators, made sure everyone understood what he meant.

Ranieri then wished everyone all the best and headed with assistant manager Andreas Brehme to his office room. Brehme who was in-charge of the club after Matthias Sammers stepped down, handed Ranieri a transfer enquiry that he had received.

It was from Spanish side Sevilla who were enquiring about 29 year old Croatian defender Boris Zivkovic. Ranieri told Brehme, that he wasnt going to say or do anything before meeting the players.

"Give a break, Tizio (Italian for Dude ). Let me atleast see my players before I even think about buying and selling. When are they coming?" said Ranieri

"Well those who are here will be coming shortly, but all the players will report to duty by the end of this week. Anyways here is our squad list." replied Brehme.

Brehme then briefed Ranieri with some more details about the club.

 

[m_vaughan]

After Andreas Brehme left his room, Ranieri decided to check his new email for the first time.

Not surprisingly the first email was from the chairman Erwin Staudt. It stated that the club is very happy to have the Italian in charge of the team, and expects him to aim for a Champions League spot atleast. However Ranieri would be given a maximum transfer budget of just ?4.7 million. The wage budget stands at ?325,000 per week.

However Ranieri seemed very calm despite having such a low transfer budget and such high expectations.

He told himself: "Ci? ? gi? una buona squadra. Dovremo appena lavorare duro."
(This is a good team already. We will just need to work hard.)

He then had a nice look at the squad list.

There were also some high profile names in the reserves squad, as Ranieri realised. Jesper Gronkjaer, Martin Stranzl, and Mario Gomes to name a few.

There was another email from the sporting director of Sevilla, which, just as Brehme had said earlier, asked if Stuttgart were willing to sell their Croatian defender Zivkovic, and if yes, for how much?
Ranieri saved the mail in his draft folder, got up and headed back to the training ground. The players would be coming in now as well.

 

[Bala]

Good composed start by Claudio here. I just hope his selection of players are not in line with his selection of his secreteries.

 

[m_vaughan]

Events over the next few days:


Claudio Ranieri has met all his players over the next few days and has conducted various training sessions and exercises. He was in particular delighted to meet his old player from Chelsea, Jesper Gronkjaer. The Danish international had been relegated to the reserves team under Matthias Sammer. However now that he has been reunited with his former manager at Chelsea, Gronkjaer expects to perform a whole lot better.



"He knows me and my game very well. I also will be able to play better under him, as I am very familiar with his tactics and style. It is the perfect boost for me to get back into form for Stuttgart," said Gronkjaer.

Gronkjaer gets another chance

"I am surprised that he hasnt found his form here. I know him well and can tell you that he is extremely fast, and is one of those players who give defenders nightmares," said Ranieri

The tinker-man as he used to be called at Chelsea, has also responded publicly to Sevilla's approach towards signing Boris Zivcovic, saying that the Croatian is not going to be sold and is one of the main players of this team.

Boris Zivkovic: Going nowhere

"He is a very good player and extremely important for us. I am not going to sell him, and the board has given me the assurance on this as well. The player himself is very happy here," added Ranieri.

 

[Bala]

Good aggressive stand first up on Zivkovic. He can be a real champion when he is primed up. And things could finally settle down for Gronk, after being tossed around England, Spain and Germany

 

[m_vaughan]

Good aggressive stand first up on Zivkovic. He can be a real champion when he is primed up. And things could finally settle down for Gronk, after being tossed around England, Spain and Germany

Well yes, and with the defence that I have, it would be criminal to sell him. However there are a few others whom I am not particularly interested in having, especially since they are a big burden on the wage budget that I had been handed by the club.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Claudio Ranieri after having a good look at his team during training, has realised that his defence isnt doing very well. He also noticed that a major part of this concern is the presence of several rather old players in the lineup.

During one of his meetings with assistant manager Andres Brahme:

"I know this might alarm you, Andres, but I am planning to release Heldt and Soldo from the team." said Ranieri.

"I am glad you think the same, Claudio. Even though they are very popular here, its time we looked to the future, and at their age, I dont think they can offer us much," replied Brehme.

He then added: "But I think we should put them on the transfer list, and see if they can fetch us any money. A lot of the mid and lower table sides like to have experienced players in their team in order to give them that one season push to a higher position finish."

"Wonderful, that will be fantastic, but we have to make it look like we are doing it because the club needs the money to make signings to build a new and younger team." said Ranieri.

"We'll just not go public on this Claudio, until a deal is done. I'll just make some of the clubs aware about the availability of these two players. Press wont even be involved unless someone leaks out the information." responded Ranieri.

So Horst Heldt,who joined Stuttgart from Sturm Graz on a free, three seasons back, could be on his way out. Another seasoned pro, Zvonimir Soldo who has been in the club for nine years, might also be leaving.

Ranieri and Brehme have decided to talk to the two players about this only when another club approaches. Should no club show interest, then both of them will most probably be released by the club, in order to cut down on the wages which is already over the budget.

Stay tuned for more on this rather confedential news.

 

[sid_19840]

Nice start to the story.Are you planning on getting any players for next season.If yes,do you have names in mind?

 

[m_vaughan]

________________________________________________________________

News just in....
________________________________________________________________



Stuttgart sell Heldt and Soldo
In, what is seen as a shocking development from Germany, Vfb Stuttgart have announced that Horst Heldt and Zvonimir Soldo have been sold by the club.

Zvonimir Soldo - The son leaves his home

The 35-year old attacking midfielder, Horst Heldt has been signed up by Hannover for ?450,000, while defender Zvonimir Soldo, 37, has joined Hertha Berlin for ?250,000.

Heldt had been in the club for three years, while Soldo had become extremely popular with the fans during his massive nine years with the club. But it is believed that Ranieri did not see them fitting into his plans, mainly because of their age.

Ranieri did regret having to see them go.

"They have been an integral part of Stuttgart over the years, and it is highly unfortunate to see them leave. But I had to take this decision keeping in mind the future of this club." said Ranieri.

The fans, as expected, are highly disappointed with this news, and have also staged a mini-protest outside the club's Gottlieb-Daimler stadion.

"It is a shameful act against both the players, who have done so much for the club. If the club wasnt able to afford their wages, then instead of selling them for such embarrassingly low prices, they could have shown a bit of respect by releasing them on a free." said one fan.

But the club chairman believes it was a step in the right direction.

"Both players have served us well, for which we are thankful to them, but now we have to move on and think about tomorrow. We wish both Heldt and Soldo all the best." said Erwin Staudt.

Nice start to the story.Are you planning on getting any players for next season.If yes,do you have names in mind?

Lots of names but no money. As you must have read before, the club has just given ?4.7 million for new signings. And with the sale of Heldt and Soldo that increases to ?5.4 million. But my main reason for letting them go was to cut down on the wages, which was over the budget from the very beginning.

As far as new signings are concerned, I am satisfied with the attack and midfield options that I have but do agree that the defence is a worry. I have sent three of the scouts to look for good defenders, and am also going through the transfer market myself. Unfortunately due to the wages budget, I cant offer a contract that is good enough to convince most of my targets to come to Stuttgart.

 

[m_vaughan]

Friendlies Fixtures

Upcoming fixtures
Stuttgart have announced the pre-season friendlies that the team will be playing.

Stuttgart, having finished 5th in the Bundesliga last season, will also be participating in the DFB Liga-Pokal or the German League Cup. The top five teams in the Bundesliga and the winners of the German Cup from the previous season compete in this tournament, with the Bundesliga winners and German Cup winners entering in the semi-final stage.

However since Bayern Munich won both the Bundesliga and the Cup last season, it means the Cup runners-up Schalke will enter this season's DFB Liga-Pokal as the other semi-finalist. This also allows Bayer Leverkusen who finished 6th last season in the Bundesliga to qualify for the tournament.

Infact Bayer Leverkusen are Vfb Stuttgart's opponents in the first round of the tournament.

In the other game, Hertha Berlin play Werden Bremen.

 

[m_vaughan]

Friendly Game v Holstein Kiel

Ranieri's first game in charge of Stuttgart is against lower division side Holstein Kiel.

Preparation:
Ranieri and his staff have been working hard with the players. They have been trying various tactics, formations, plans and link-ups, and trying to identify the best combinations, or the ones that works out best. Apart from this they have been practicing free kicks, corners, throw ins, and other training assignments.

Ranieri is happy with his attacking and midfield options, but is still concerned about the defence. Although he did manage to get a good display and working from the defenders. He also tried out various players to play the part of both defensive midfielder and defender, something he believes will be crucial during the season.

Hildebrand at training

Amongst the players he has very high expectations of John Dahl Tomasson and Timo Hildebrand. Although he feels Tomasson will be well supported and assisted, he does expect the goalkeeper Hildebrand to be under a lot of pressure with a mediocre defence in front of him.

Assistant manager Andreas Brehme has suggested and identified the Cacau-Tomasson combination upfrobt as ideal. However Ranieri was impressed by other strikers as well.

Ranieri told Brehme: "Upfront, we dont have any problems. But I need to get atleast one good defender and a backup goalkeeper. I dont fancy Dirk Heiner very much."

Brehme agreed.

Although both have been discussing about players they could approach, they havent yet decided on a transfer target. Most conversations would end with the same problem - lack of transfer funds and wage budgets.

"I think you should inform the board, and request for more money or atleast an increase in the wage budget." said Brehme.

"I have done that, but the board feels it is very difficult to allot more money at this point." replied Ranieri.

The Match:

The venue for this friendly game was Holsteinstadion, home of Holstein Kiel.

Here are how the teams lined up at the start:

Subs:

So Ranieri obviously trying out a few things in this game, especially upfront where he has the promising Ivan Gonzalez partner Cacau. Fernando Meira looks like is the one who Ranieri wants to play that crucial role of defensive midfielder who will have to go back and help the defence whenever required.
Jesper Gronkjaer hasnt travelled with the squad for this friendly, which is a surprise, as it seemed he might be back in the first team under Ranieri.

The Result:

Goals:

Well in the end it was a comfortable victory for Ranieri's team. The lower division side never really looked like threatening the Stuttgart goal with just three shots on target. But Ranieri will be disappointed that his team had not only fewer shots overall, but lesser possession. So even though the scoreline might suggest a cake walk for Stuttgart, Ranieri knows that the match was a lot different, and it was just that Kiel dint have the quality in their strikers to take advantage of his team's defensive lapses.

The star performers for Stuttgart were Mario Carevic, Tomas Hitzlsperger, Fernando Meira, Heiko Gerber and John Dahl Tomasson. Sami Khedira had a poor game. Ranieri was particularly impressed by Carevic and Fernando Meira. Even though the defence overall wasnt particularly good, Fernando Meira did well in that crucial role of defensive midfielder who also needs to help out the defence.

Stats:

Now Ranieri and Brehme will get another few days to think about possible transfer targets, but have another friendly game coming up soon.

 

[m_vaughan]

Transfer targets

After a lot of discussion and analysis Ranieri and Brehme have decided on the following two transfer targets to sort out their defensive worries:

Manuel Friedrich
Current club: Mainz
Position: Defence Centre
Value: ?1.6M
Initial bid: ?1.4 M

Marco Materazzi
Current club: Inter Milan
Position: Defence Centre
Value: ?1.8M
Initial bid: ?1.4M

The requests have been handed over to the board. The board have approved the requests, and Stuttgart have since then officially approached the concerned clubs.

Ranieri and Brehme are actually looking at one central defender, but wouldnt mind having both. Although such a situation is extremely unlikely because of the wage budget limitations at the club. The only other way would be release or sell some of the other players.