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VfB Stuttgart
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Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart, is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. With 43,000 members (as of September 2007), VfB is the largest sports club in the state and the fifth largest in the country. The club is best known for its football team, which has participated in all but two Bundesliga seasons. The team has won the national championship five times in total—most recently in the 2006–07 season—and the DFB-Pokal (German cup) three times.
The football team plays its home games at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, situated in the Cannstatter Wasen sports complex.
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Encyclopedia
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart, is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. With 43,000 members (as of September 2007), VfB is the largest sports club in the state and the fifth largest in the country. The club is best known for its football team, which has participated in all but two Bundesliga seasons. The team has won the national championship five times in total—most recently in the 2006–07 season—and the DFB-Pokal (German cup) three times.
The football team plays its home games at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, situated in the Cannstatter Wasen sports complex. It is famous for its talented reserve team, VfB Stuttgart II, which currently plays in the 3rd Liga, two divisions below the first team, in the highest division allowed for a reserve team.
In addition to the successes of the professional, amateur and youth football teams, athletes from the club's athletics department have won numerous titles and medals. The club also has departments for fistball, hockey, table-tennis and football referees. These five departments only compete at amateur level. The club also maintains a social department, the VfB-Garde.
History
Foundation to WWII
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart was formed through the 2 April 1912 merger of predecessor sides Stuttgarter FV and Kronen-Club Cannstatt following a meeting in the Concordia hotel in Cannstatt. Each of these clubs was made up of school pupils with middle class roots who learned new sports such as rugby union and football from English pioneers.
FV Stuttgart
Stuttgarter Fußballverein was founded at the Zum Becher hotel in Cannstatt on 9 September 1893. FV were initially a rugby club, playing games at Stöckach-Eisbahn before moving to Cannstatter Wasen in 1894. The rugby club established a football section in 1908. The team drew players primarily from local schools, under the direction of teacher Carl Kaufmann, and quickly achieved its first success; in 1909 they were runners-up to FSV 1897 Hannover in the national rugby final, losing 6-3. Rugby was soon replaced by football within the club, as spectators found the game too complicated to follow.
In 1909 FV joined the Süddeutschen Fußballverband (Southern Germany Football Association), playing in the second tier B-Klasse. In their second season FV won a district final against future merger partner Kronen-Klub Cannstatt before being defeated by FV Zuffenhausen in the county championship that would have seen the side promoted. They eventually advanced to the senior Südkreisliga in 1912.
Kronen-Klub Cannstatt
Cannstatter Fußballklub was formed as a rugby club in 1890 and also quickly established a football team. This club was dissolved after just a few years of play and the former membership re-organized themselves as FC Krone Cannstatt in 1897 to compete as a football-only side. The new team joined the Süddeutschen Fußballverband (SFV) as a second division club and won promotion in 1904. Cannstatt possessed their own ground, which still exists today as the home of TSV Münster.
Following the 1912 merger of these two clubs, the combined side played in the Bezirksliga Württemberg-Baden, earning a number of top three finishes and claiming a title there in 1927. The club also made several appearances in the final rounds of the SFV in the late 20s and early 30s.
1933–1945
In 1933 German football was re-organized under the Third Reich into sixteen top-flight divisions called Gauligen. Stuttgart played in the Gauliga Württemberg and enjoyed considerable success there, winning division titles in 1935, 1937, 1938, 1940, and 1943 before the Gauliga system collapsed part way through the 1944–45 season. The club had an intense rivalry with Stuttgarter Kickers throughout this period.
VfBs Gauliga titles earned the team entry to the national playoff rounds, with their best result coming in 1935 when they advanced to the final where they lost 4–6 to defending champions Schalke 04. After a third place result at the national level in 1937, Stuttgart was not able in subsequent appearances to advance out of the preliminary rounds.
1950s championships
After the war VfB continued to play first division football in the Oberliga Süd, capturing titles there in 1946, 1952, and 1954. The team also made regular appearances in the German championship rounds emerging as national champion in 1950 and 1952, and finishing as runner-up in 1953. In the 1950s, the club also twice won the German Cup (1954 and 1958). The team which won four titles in eight years was led by Robert Schlienz who had lost his left arm in a car crash. No player from Stuttgart had been selected for the team that won the 1954 FIFA World Cup though.
1963 Bundesliga
Due to international competition that led to disappointing results in the 1958 and 1962 World Cup, DFB introduced a single professional league in 1963. Stuttgarts consistently good play throughout the 1950s earned them a place among the sixteen clubs that would make up the original Bundesliga. The club, as an amateur organisation and due to proverbial swabian austerity, hesitated to spend money, and some players continued to work in an everyday job. Throughout the balance of the decade and into the mid-70s the club would generally earn mid-table results. One of the few stars of the time was Gilbert Gress from Strasbourg.
In 1972–1973 the team qualified for the UEFA Cup for the first time and advanced to the semi-finals of the 1974 tournament where they were eliminated by eventual winners Feyenoord Rotterdam (1–2, 2–2).
1975–2000 era of president MV
VfB Stuttgart was in crisis in the mid 1970s, having missed new trends like sponsorship. Attempts to catch up with new levels of professionalism by spending money failed. Towards the end of the 1974–75 season, with the team in imminent danger of being relegated to Second Bundesliga, local politician Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder was elected as new president. Yet, a tie in the final game meant that VfB would be ranked 16th and lose its Bundesliga status. The first season in second league, considered the worst in its history, ended with VfB being ranked 11th, having even lost a home game against local rival SSV Reutlingen in front of only 1200 spectators.
With new coach Jürgen Sundermann and new talents like Karlheinz Förster and Hansi Müller, the team around Ottmar Hitzfeld scored hundred goals in 1976–77 and thus returned to top flight play after just two seasons.
The young team was popular for offensive and high-scoring play, but suffered from lack of experience. At the end of 1977–78, the VfB was ranked 4th, but the average attendance of over 53,000 set the league record until the 1990s. They made another UEFA Cup semi-final appearance in 1980 and delivered a number of top four finishes on their way to their first Bundesliga title – the club's third national title – in 1984, now under coach Helmut Benthaus.
In 1986, VfB lost the German Cup final 2–5 to Bayern Munich. In the 1989 UEFA Cup Final, they fell to Napoli (1–2, 3–3) where Diego Maradona was playing at the time.
In 1991–92, the club clinched its fourth title, in one of the closest races in Bundesliga history, finishing ahead of Borussia Dortmund on goal difference. Internationally, they had been eliminated from UEFA Cup play that season (1991–92) after losing their second round match to Spanish side Osasuna (2–3). As national champions, the club qualified to play in the UEFA Champions League in 1992–93, but was eliminated in the first round by Leeds United after a tie-breaking third match in Barcelona which was required due to coach Christoph Daum having substituted a fourth non-German player in game two.
VfB did not qualify for any European competition again until 1997, by way of their third German Cup win, with coach Joachim Löw. They enjoyed a measure of success on their return, advancing to the 1998 European Cup Winners' Cup final in Stockholm, where they lost to Chelsea in what was the penultimate year of the competition. Only one player of the magic triangle, captain Krassimir Balakov, remained after Giovane Elber and Fredi Bobic left. Löw's contract was not renewed, he was replaced by Winfried Schäfer who in turn was sacked after one season.
However, Stuttgarts performance fell off after this as the club earned just mid-table results over the next two seasons despite spending money on the transfer market and for veterans like Balakov.
2000–2007 The post-MV-era return to success
Due to high debts and the lack of results, Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder finally resigned from VfB in 2000 to take over offices at DFB, UEFA and FIFA. New president Manfred Haas had to renegotiate expensive contracts with players that seldom appeared on the field anyway. As in 1976, when MV had taken over, the team had to be rebuilt by relying on talents from the youth teams. The VfB has one of Germany's most successful programs in the :de:Deutsche Jugendmeisterschaft (Fußball).
Coach Ralf Rangnick had started a restructuring of the team that won the UI Cup, but the resulting extra strain of the UEFA cup participation ended in barely escaping from relegation in 2001 by clinching 15th spot. Rangnick was replaced by Felix Magath.
With players like Andreas Hinkel, Kevin Kurányi, Timo Hildebrand or Alexander Hleb earning themselves the nickname the young and wild, the club soon re-bounded and finished as Bundesliga runners-up in the 2002–03 season.
Champions League 2003–04
Thus, VfB qualified for their second Champions League appearance and, beating Manchester United and Rangers once and Panathinaikos twice, they advanced out of group play to the first knock out round where they were eliminated by their old nemesis Chelsea (0–1 and 0–0) (see also UEFA Champions League 2003-04).
They continued to play as one of the top teams in the country, earning fourth and fifth place Bundesliga finishes, and again taking part in the UEFA Cup, but without great success. In addition, coach Magath and several players left for stronger clubs: Kevin Kurányi for Schalke 04, Philipp Lahm for Bayern Munich and Aliaksandr Hleb for Arsenal.
Halfway through the disappointing 2005–06 season, Giovanni Trapattoni was sacked and replaced by Armin Veh. The new coach was designated as a stop-gap due to having resigned from Hansa Rostock in 2003 to focus on his family and having no football job since 2004 except coaching his home team Augsburg for a season. Supported by new manager Horst Heldt, Veh could establish himself and his concept of focusing on promising inexpensive players rather than established stars. Team captain Zvonimir Soldo retired, and other veterans left the team that slipped to ninth place and did not qualify for European competition for the first time in four years.
Bundesliga champions 2006–07
Despite early-season losses and ensuing criticism in 2006–07, including a 3–0 loss at home to Nuremberg, Veh managed to turn the collection of new players like Mexicans Pável Pardo, and Ricardo Osorio, and Brazilian Antônio da Silva and fresh local talents, including Mario Gómez, Serdar Tasci and Sami Khedira, into a strong contender that led the league on 12 November 2006 for the first time in two years. Stuttgart established themselves among the top five and delivered a strong challenge for the Bundesliga title by winning their final eight games. In the penultimate week on 12 May 2007, Stuttgart beat VfL Bochum 3–2 away from home, took the Bundesliga lead from Schalke 04 and secured a spot in the 2007-08 UEFA Champions League. After trailing 0–1 in the final match of the season against Energie Cottbus, Stuttgart came back to win 2–1 and claim their first Bundesliga title in 15 years. The victory celebrations in Stuttgart (250,000 people) even topped those of Germany's third place win over Portugal in the 2006 World Cup.
In addition, VfB had their first ever chance to win the double as they also reached the final of the German Cup for the first time since their victory there ten years ago. Their opponents in the cup final in Berlin were Nuremberg, a team that had beaten them twice by 3 goals in regular season, 3–0 and 4–1, but last had won the cup in 1962. With the game level at 1–1 in the first half, Stuttgart's scorer Cacau was sent off. Nuremberg gained a 2–1 lead early in the second half, but the ten men of VfB managed to fight back and equalize. In the second half of extra time, with both teams suffering from exhaustion and the humid conditions, Nuremberg scored the winning goal. Stuttgart will have a cup winner in its ranks anyway for the 2007–08 season as Nuremberg's captain Raphael Schäfer replaces goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand who had decided in winter to leave and will play for Valencia next season.
Champions League 2007–08
The 2007–08 UEFA Champions League draw on August 30, 2007 paired the German champions with Spanish giants Barcelona, French champions Lyon and Scottish Old Firm side Rangers. Like in the 2003–04 Champions League season, Stuttgart's 2007–08 European campaign started with a match at Glasgow's Ibrox Park against Rangers. It ended in a 2–1 defeat. The second match at home against Barcelona was lost, too, 0–2, as well as the 3rd match, against Lyon at home, with the visitors coming out 2–0 winners from 2nd half strikes.
In the league they only managed to become 6th, with Mario Gómez scoring 19 goals.
Stadium
The home ground of VfB Stuttgart is the Mercedes-Benz Arena which was originally built in 1933. It lies close to the River Neckar on Bad Cannstatt's Mercedes-Straße near the new Mercedes-Benz Museum and Mercedes-Benz factory. After being renovated several times, the stadium can hold a maximum capacity of 55,896 spectators (50,000 for international matches). Unlike most other Bundesliga stadiums, the former Neckarstadion retains the traditional athletic track around the playing field despite intentions to convert it into a football-only stadium. As for the 1974 FIFA World Cup, Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion was one of the venues for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, hosting five preliminary round matches, a First Knockout Round match (England vs. Ecuador) and the third place play-off (Germany vs. Portugal). From the 2008–09 season, the stadium will be renamed the Mercedes-Benz-Arena, starting with a pre-season friendly against Arsenal on July 30, 2008.
Honours
International competition:
National competition:
- German football champions: 1950, 1952, 1984, 1992, 2007
- German runners-up: 1935, 1953, 1979, 2003
- German Cup winners: 1954, 1958, 1997
- German Cup finalists: 1986, 2007
- German Supercup winners: 1992
- League Cup finalists: 2005
Regional competition:
Youth
- German Under 19 championship
- Champions: 1973, 1981, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 2003, 2005
- Runners-up: 1972, 1977, 1982, 1999, 2002
- German Under 17 championship
- Champions: 1986, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2004
- Runners-up: 1988, 1990, 1998, 2002, 2003
- Under 19 Bundesliga South/Southwest
Trivia
VfB was held in the Concordia hotel in Bad Cannstatt, a district of the city of Stuttgart. VfB are nicknamed "the Reds" for their team colours, featuring a red chest ring on white jerseys. Local rivals Stuttgarter Kickers, wearing blue and white, are "the Blues". In the 2006–07 Season VfB Stuttgart started using the song Bro Hymn by Pennywise as their goal celebration music.
Club management
- Dieter Hundt, chairman, entrepreneur
- Erwin Staudt, CEO & president since 26 June 2003
- Horst Heldt, general manager, former Bundesliga player (since 1990, for VfB 2003-2005)
Players
Current squad
Players currently out on loan
As of January 2009
For recent transfers, see List of German football transfers summer 2008 and List of German football transfers winter 2008-09.
Managers/coaches
| Name | Period | Honors | | July 1, 1924 - June 30, 1927 | Württemberg/Baden champions 1926 | | July 1,1927 - June 30, 1930 | Württemberg champions 1930 | | July 1, 1930 - June 30, 1933 | | | July 1933 | | | July 1, 1933 - June 30, 1936 | German championship runners-up 1935,
Gauliga Württemberg champions 1935 | | July 1, 1936 - June 30, 1939 | Gauliga Württemberg champions 1937, 1938 | | July 1, 1945 - June 30, 1947 | Oberliga Süd champions 1946 | | July 1, 1947 - April 30, 1960 | German champions 1950, 1952, Runners-up 1953,
Oberliga Süd champions 1952, 1954, German Cup 1954, 1958 | | May 1, 1960 - February 24, 1965 | | | February 25, 1965 - March 7, 1965 | | | Rudi Gutendorf (b. 1926) | March 8, 1965 - December 6, 1966 | | | December 7, 1966 - June 30, 1967 | | | July 1, 1967 - June 30, 1969 | | | Juli 1, 1969 - June 30, 1970 | | | Branko Zebec (1929 - 1988) | July 1, 1970 - April 18, 1972 | | | April 19, 1972 - June 30, 1972 | | | Hermann Eppenhoff (1919 - 1992) | July 1, 1972 - December 1, 1974 | | | December 2, 1974 - December 13, 1974 | | | December 14, 1974 - June 30, 1975 | | | István Sztani (b. 1937) | July 1, 1975 - March 31, 1976 | | | April 1, 1976 - June 30, 1976 | | | July 1, 1976 - June 30, 1979 | Bundesliga runners-up 1979 | | July 1, 1979 - June 30, 1980 | | | July 1, 1980 - June 30, 1982 | | | Helmut Benthaus (b. 1935) | July 1, 1982 - June 30, 1985 | German champions 1984 | | Otto Baric (b. 1932) | July 1, 1985 - March 4, 1986 | | | Willi Entenmann (b. 1943) | March 5, 1986 - June 30, 1986 | German Cup runners-up 1986 | | Egon Coordes (b. 1944) | July 1, 1986 - June 30, 1987 | | | Arie Haan (b. 1948) | July 1, 1987 - March 26, 1990 | UEFA Cup runners-up 1989 | | Willi Entenmann | March 27, 1990 - November 19, 1990 | | | Christoph Daum (b. 1953) | November 20, 1990 - December 10, 1993 | German champions 1992 | | Jürgen Röber (b. 1953) | Dezember 15, 1993 - April 25, 1995 | | | Jürgen Sundermann | April 26, 1995 - June 30, 1995 | | | Rolf Fringer (b. 1957) | July 1, 1995 - August 13, 1996 | | | Joachim Löw (b. 1960) | August 14, 1996 - June 30, 1998 | German Cup 1997, Cup Winners' Cup runners up 1998 | | Winfried Schäfer (b. 1950) | July 1, 1998 - December 4, 1998 | | | Wolfgang Rolff (b. 1959) | December 5, 1998 - Dezember 31, 1998 | | | Rainer Adrion (b. 1953) | January 1, 1999 - May 2, 1999 | | | Ralf Rangnick (b. 1958) | May 3, 1999 - February 23, 2001 | | | Felix Magath (b. 1953) | February 24, 2001 - June 30, 2004 | Bundesliga runners-up 2003 | | Matthias Sammer (b. 1967) | July 1, 2004 - June 3, 2005 | | | Giovanni Trapattoni (b. 1939) | June 17, 2005 - February 9, 2006 | | | Armin Veh (b. 1961) | February 10, 2006 - November 23, 2008 | German champions 2007, German Cup runners-up 2007 | | Markus Babbel (b. 1972) | November 23, 2008 - incumbent | |
Prominent and important Coaches
Georg Wurzer
Branko Zebec
Otto Baric
Helmut Benthaus
Arie Haan
Christoph Daum
Joachim Löw (currently the coach of Germany)
Felix Magath
Matthias Sammer
Giovanni Trapattoni
Armin Veh
Bundesliga Position
External links
- historical German football league tables (in German)
- European football club profiles
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