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

[m_vaughan]

Stuttgart back to winning ways

DFB Pokal 1st Round
SG Wattenscheid vs VfB Stuttgart
Lohrheidestadion

The Match:
Stuttgart travel to the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany to
face third division side Wattenscheid in the first round of the DFB Pokal.

Stuttgart and their new manager Claudio Ranieri have come under heavy
criticism following the team's 1-4 defeat in the Bundesliga to Hertha
Berlin. Many have questioned Ranieri's decision to sell defenders Soldo
and Delpierre, when the defence is a concern and a weakpoint of the
team.

Anyways, this game allows Ranieri to get back at his critics.

Here are the team lineups for the game:

Subs:

Ranieri has gone back to his original 4-3-1-2 formation with two wingers.
Jon Dahl Tomasson is back from injury and is immediately put into the
starting lineup by Ranieri, where he is partnered upfront by Cacau. The Croatian youngster Mario Carevic plays behind the two strikers. The main midfield consists of the two wingers, Thomas Hitzlsperger (Left) and Jesper Gronkjaer (Right), with Fernando Meira playing the holding midfielder. Magnin, Zivkovic, Babbel and the captain Hinkel form the back four, ahead of the highly talented goalkeeper, Timo Hildebrand.
Wattenscheid are playing the 4-4-2 formation. Ranieri has been told to
watch out mainly for the striker Abdul Iyodo and midfielder Miguel
Pereira.

The Result

Goals:

An easy win, as expected, for Ranieri's team, although they did have to
wait till the 54th minute to break the deadlock. But Stuttgart clearly
dominated the game, having much more number of shots, corners and
chances than Wattenscheid. The visitors also had a greater share of the ball possession at 52%.

Mario Carevic put the visitors in front in the second half when he pounced on the rebound after Michael Joswig had intially punched out the intial attempt by Hitzlsperger. Carevic ran to the 5000 visiting Stuttgart fans, and celebrated with them.

And the match was sealed in the 71st minute, when Cacau latched onto Hinkel's wonderful longball and was free right uptil the Wattenscheid goal, where he drilled the ball past Michael Joswig and into the net. Cacau then did a neat 360 jump in front of the screaming Stuttgart fans.

The star player today was Mario Carevic, who scored one goal, and had
atleast three more chances. He made some sublime runs, from both flanks as well the centre, causing the Wattenscheid defence, a lot of problems.
Jon Dahl Tomasson also looked good in his game back from injury although by the end of the game did appear a bit exhausted. Cacau, the other
goalscorer had a nice game overall, but was penalised by the referee for diving, and shown the only yellow card of the game. Hitzlsperger and
captain Andreas Hinkel also had a good game for the visitors. For the
home side, goalkeeper Michael Joswig did well to keep the scoreline at
just 2-0.

Claudio Ranieri maintained an attacking tactic throughout the game and
played his 4-3-1-2 formation for the entire 90 minutes. Streller replaced Cacau in the 77th minute, but dint really do much. Christian Tiffert
who lost his starting place to Jesper Gronkjaer did come on for him, but
hardly caught the eye in the final few minutes. Silvio Meibner however
did have a shot on goal after coming on for Boris Zivkovic in the 77th minute. Meibner took Fernando Meira's place in midfield, while Meira
replaced Zivkovic in defence.

Mario Carevic was named man of the match for his supreme performance on the field today.

Stats:

 

[m_vaughan]

Stuttgart enter second round

Stuttgart pass first hurdle

Mario Carevic put in a breathtaking display against Wattenscheid

Stuttgart have made it to the second round of this season's DFB Pokal (German Cup) beating third division side SG Wattenscheid 2-0 in Wattenscheid, Bochum.

Goals from Mario Carevic and Cacau in the second half ensured the visitors passage into the second round of the competition.

Claudio Ranieri's side had it all to prove in this game, after being hammered 4-1 by Herta Berlin in the last weekend's Bundesliga encounter in Berlin. And that seemed to have shaken the confidence of the Stuttgart players who despite making good moves, failed to convert any of the chances into goals during the first half. Although credit has to be given to the Wattenscheid keeper Michael Joswig who made some splendid saves during the entire 90 minutes.

In the first half, Mario Carevic's left footed volley and Jesper Gronkjaer's long range curling ball was well saved by Joswig. On most days both those attempts would have resulted in goals.

Timo Hildebrand made a fine effort too to keep out Sasha Backer's freekick in the first half.

Jon Dahl Tomasson's shot was then pushed out for a corner by Joswig. Carevic's next chance, wherein he was one-on-one with the keeper, did not convert into a goal, although the Croatian's second touch was poor and Joswig was able to grab the ball from his feet.

Before the half time whistle, Stuttgart had more attempts, with Thomas Hitzlsperger coming very close with a header, but was once again punched to safety by Michael Joswig.

In the second half, Cacau made his presence felt, but for the wrong reasons intially, when referee Thorsten Schriever penalised him with a yellow card for diving.

Soon after, Stuttgart took the lead via Mario Carevic. The Croatian put the visitors in front when he pounced on the rebound after Michael Joswig had intially punched out the intial attempt by Hitzlsperger. Carevic ran to the 5000 visiting Stuttgart fans, and celebrated with them.

Carevic could have then doubled the lead but hit shot was just wide.

Finally in the 71st minute the match was sealed, when Cacau latched onto Hinkel's wonderful longball and was free right uptil the Wattenscheid goal, where he drilled the ball past Michael Joswig and into the net. Cacau then did a neat 360 jump in front of the screaming Stuttgart fans.

Claudio Ranieri then made three chances with Silvio Meibner, Marco Streller and Christian Tiffert replacing Boris Zivkovic, Jesper Gronkjaer and Cacau.

Meibner had taken Fernando Meira's position in midfield, while the latter went back to replace Zivkovic in the back four. Meibner infact had a nice long range attempt on goal, but once again Joswig prevented the ball from going in.

As the whistle was blown, the visiting Stuttgart fans celebrated their team's win and the passage into the next round of the competition.

Manager Claudio Ranieri was relieved with the win.

"We were under a lot of pressure after that heavy defeat in Berlin, but with this win, I think we have put things back on track. Now we have to concentrate again on the Bundesliga and lets see who we face in the second round of the competition," said Ranieri.

Man of the match, Mario Carevic, said he enjoyed playing today although he could have scored more goals.

"I was playing very freely today and enjoying myself in the middle. I had many chances, but was able to score just one goal, so that is one thing that I want to improve upon," said Carevic.

The draw for the second round will be made on Tuesday.

 

[Bala]

Good way to put behind the disappointment of the past week. If Tomasson makes his comeback from injury, then Stuttgart will have more options upfront in the attack.

 

[m_vaughan]

Tomasson has made his comeback from injury, that has seen him out of action for 3 weeks. He played the entire 90 minutes during the 2-0 win over Wattenscheid, but as you can see his condition was 35 at the end of the game. Probably was a bit too early to put him back.

Heiko Gerber is also expected to resume training this week.

 

[Bala]

It was a huge risk taken by Ranieri to have him play for the full 90. I would rather had him come on after the hour's mark.

 

[m_vaughan]

Other results

Other results from Round 1 of the DFB Pokal (German Cup)

All of the Bundesliga division one teams making it through to the next stage.

The draw for round 2 takes place on Tuesday

 

[Left_Hander]

Nice work m_vaughn . This story is good mate.

,
Left_Hander

 

[Bala]

Hertha struggling to scrape through after a demolition job of Stuttgart! What a great leveller this game is!

 

[m_vaughan]

DFB Pokal 2nd Round Draw

The draw for the second round of the DFB Pokal (German Cup) was made today (Tuesday 23rd August, 2005)

VfB Stuttgart will play fellow Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg at the Gottlieb-Daimler stadion in Stuttgart.

The match will be played on the 20th of September, 2005 at 7:30 pm.

Defending champions Bayern M?nchen also face Bundesliga opposition when they host Hannover 96 at the Allianz Arena. Schalke too have been handed a home tie against Bundesliga opponents N?rnberg.

All fixtures:

 

[m_vaughan]

Training + Transfer News!

Training

Its back to the Bundesliga and a tough game against Dortmund this weekend. Ranieri realises that and the importance to get three points from it. As a result he and his players have been workind extremely hard in training. Both Jon Dahl Tomasson and Heiko Gerber have resumed training, and are expected to play against Dortmund.

Hildebrand during training

Ranieri has been working particularly with the goalkeepers, so that they develop a better understanding with the defenders and their movements on the field. Ranieri believes Hildebrand is his key player, and believes the German International can do even better if he knows his defenders better.

Some good news for Ranieri

Claudio Ranieri is also pleased to find out that the club's bids for Italian defender Marco Materazzi and Ukraine forward Andriy Voronin have been accepted by their respective teams. Inter Milan have accepted a fee of ?2.3 million for Materazzi, while Bayer Leverkusen have settled for ?4.9 million for Voronin. Stuttgart have been given permission to talk to both these players and their agents. Materazzi was Ranieri's pick, while Voronin's name was suggested by Assistant manager Andreas Brehme.

Andriy Voronin
Current Club: Bayer Leverkusen
Value: ?5.5 million
Bid: ?4.9 million - ACCEPTED!!

Marco Materazzi
Current Club: Inter Milan
Value: ?1.8 million
Bid: ?2.3 million - ACCEPTED!!


DFB Pokal

Ranieri's team will play VfL Wolfsburg in the 2nd round of the German Cup. The match will be played at Stuttgart's Gottlieb-Daimler stadion on September 20, 2005.

 

[m_vaughan]

Stuttgart vs Dortmund - Preview

A must win game for both teams



Both Stuttgart and Dortmund head into this game at the Gottlieb Daimler stadion, needing maximum points. Both teams will be coming off defeats in their last Bundesliga encounters. Stuttgart were hammered 4-1 by Hertha Berlin, while Dortmund lost 2-1 to Bayern M?nchen.

But both teams sprung back to form in last week's DFB Pokal 1st round games. Dortmund accomplished the most convincing win of the round, beating MSV Preussen 7-0, while Dortmund won their match against Wattenscheid 2-0.

Claudio Ranieri has both Jon Dahl Tomasson and Heiko Gerber back from injury, although Tomasson did feature in last weekend's game. The Danish international played the entire ninety minutes, to surprise of many, and infact created the second goal which was scored by Cacau. Heiko Gerber is not expected to start against Dortmund, although he might play some part in the game.

The 53 year old believes that the defeat against Herta has served as a wake-up call for his team.

"The other day, Hertha showed us what a side with good attacking options can do to us. But it has got our defenders more ready and more prepared now, so it is a blessing in disguise and I prefer to have these wake-up calls in the start of the season," said Ranieri.

Ranieri was also handed a second good news, when it was revealed that Stuttgart's bids for Inter's Marco Materazzi and Leverkusen's Andriy Voronin had been accepted. The Italian had come under heavy criticism after selling three of the team's defenders since taking over, and not making any direct replacements.

Dortmund's Tomas Rosicky is being linked with a Premiership move

The visiting Dortmund side have just one point from the opening two games of the Bundesliga, but are coming off a 7-0 win in the DFB Pokal (German Cup) 1st round. New signing Vincenzo Iaquinta scored two, and created two in that game. Czech international Tomas Rosicky, who is being linked with a move to the Premiership, showed his class with a fantastic strike, finding the top right corner of the Preussen goal.

Dortmund manager Bert Van Maarwijk insists that his team's attack can cause Stuttgart a lot of problems.

"Their defence is their weakness, and our strength lies in our attack. And all our attackers and forwards are in top form from the other game in the German Cup, and are wanting to continue this form in the Bundesliga. We have also seen their (Stuttgart's) games closely and believe we can go back to Dortmund with three points from this game," said Van Maarwijk.

 

[m_vaughan]

The Gronkjaer and Iaquinta show

Bundesliga Matchday 3
VfB Stuttgart vs Borussia Dortmund
Gottlieb-Daimler stadion

The Match:
Two teams with disappointing starts to their campaigns face each other at the Gottlieb-Daimler stadion for gameweek three of the 2005-06 Bundesliga season. Stuttgart have three points from their two games, losing to Hertha Berlin 1-4, almost a fortnight ago. Dortmund on the other hand have just a point from their opening two games, and were beaten 2-1 by Bayern in their last Bundesliga game.

However both teams won their respective DFB Pokal first round matches last weekend. Dortmund were highly impressive in their 7-0 demolition of Prussen, while Stuttgart got the job done beating Wattenscheid 2-0.

Here are the team lineups:

Subs:

Claudio Ranieri has Heiko Gerber back from injury, and the Italian has put him straight into the starting lineup, playing in the left back position, and has pushed Ludovic Magnin into the centre of defence. Boris Zivkovic who is still a transfer target of a number of clubs, and the captain Andreas Hinkel, completes the back four. Behind them is the wall of Stuttgart, Timo Hildebrand. Fernando Meira has made the defensive midfielder's position his very own, and he is joined in midfield by the two wingers, Jesper Gronkjaer on the right, and Thomas Hitzlsperger on the left. Mario Carevic, who scored last weekend against Wattenscheid starts just behind the two strikers, Jon Dahl Tomasson, back from injury and a lot fitter hopefully today, and the Brazilian Cacau, who too got on the scoresheet in that win over Wattenscheid.

Playing a traditional 4-4-2 formation, Dortmund have a dangerously looking forward lineup, comprising of Vincenzo Iaquinta who scored two goals last weekend, and Jan Koller. In midfield they boast the likes of Thomas Rosicky, Sebastian Kehl, Salvatore Gambino, and Ebi Smolarek. Dede, Dengen, Metzelder, and captain Christian W?rns form the defence line, ahead of goalkeeper Dennis Gentenaar.

Result:

Goals:

A fantastic game for the neutral spectator, but Claudio Ranieri was disappointed to have had to do with just a point in the end. Stuttgart having gone down initially, took the lead twice, only for Dortmund to come back and equalise both times.

Former Udinese striker Vincenzo Iaquinta then put the visitors in front when he outjumped Stuttgart captain Andreas Hinkel and headed the ball, off Degen's cross, into the goal.

Just seven minutes later, Jesper Gronkjaer equalised to the delight of the home fans. Thomas Hitzlsperger initiated the goal, when he turned the ball and made a run down the left flank, before putting in a nice ball in to the penalty box. Gronkjaer in the meantime sprinted from the right towards the goal, dived onto to the ball and found the back of the net.

A huge roar went up in the Gottlieb-Daimler stadion, when Mario Carevic's cheeky flick beat Dortmund goalkeeper Dennis Gentenaar, to put Stuttgart ahead. Carevic ran to the corner flag, jumped and punched the air, as the home fans made themselves heard.

In the second half, Vincenzo Iaquinta scored his second of the game, and got the visitors back on level terms in the 50th minute. The Italian received a perfect pass from Jan Koller and found himself in the clear. He then took the ball past the diving Ludovic Magnin and hit it straight across the face of goal and into the bottom right corner. The Italian was putting in a breath-taking display here.

But the home side again took the lead just three minutes later when Gronkjaer won the aerial challenge against Gambino and got his head to the ball, arriving via Hitzlsperger's cross, and sent it across the goalmouth. Gronkjaer's second goal of the game, and once again it was initiated by Thomas Hitzlsperger from the left flank.

Finally in the 70th minute, Ebi Smolarek got past the Stuttgart defence line, and beat Hildebrand at his near post, to make it 3-3. Smolarek removed his jersey and swung it in the air before skidding down the turf. He was soon covered by his team-mates. Only the few visiting Dortmund fans could be heard at this stage.

We looked a bit confused at the start, and Dortmund took advantage of that scoring the opening goal through their new signing, Vincenzo Iaquinta, who netted a second later on. It was only after that first goal, did we start playing to be honest, as it was an eye-opener. Jesper Gronkjaer who had a wonderful game overall, scored two goals. Credit must also go to Thomas Hitzlsperger who caused a lot of problems playing on that left flank, and infact created both the goals that Gronkjaer scored. Cacau, Tomasson, Carevic and Meira and Hinkel all had good games, but our other three defenders in Magnin, Gerber and Zivkovic did look a bit out of sorts. Ranieri would have substituted one of three and got Marcel Schuon in, but Fernando Meira picked up a slight injury and had to be replaced by fellow defensive midfielder, Silvio Mei?ner. The goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand did make a few saves but could have saved atleast one of the three Dortmund goals. Danjiel Ljuboja replaced Tomasson after Stuttgart had taken a 3-2 lead. Swiss striker Marco Streller was brought in the 81st minute, replacing Cacau.

Stats:

 

[Bala]

Gronk is really coming good undet Ranieri. Iaquinta too has a great potential. Great buy for Dortmund.

 

[m_vaughan]

Gronk is really coming good undet Ranieri. Iaquinta too has a great potential. Great buy for Dortmund.

They got him for ?8 million from Udinese. Good buy indeed.


____________________________________________________________

Six goal thriller in Stuttgart

Dortmund's Vincenzo Iaquinta scored a brace

Jesper Gronkjaer and Vincenzo Iaquinta both got on the scoresheet twice, while Ebi Smolarek and Mario Carevic got one goal each.

Stuttgart and Dortmund both headed into this game after a less than impressive start to their respective seasons. Stuttgart beat Mainz on the opening day but were then handed a 4-1 hammering by Hertha in Berlin.

Dortmund on the other hand had registered just a point from their opening two games, thanks to the 1-1 draw with K?ln on the opening day.

Stuttgart had Heiko Gerber back after injury, while Dortmund looked like they were going to retain the services of Tomas Rosicky despite strong rumours about a possible Premiership move.

Stuttgart came very close to taking the lead in the 13th minute when Gentenaar saved Hitzlsperger's shot and held on to the ball.

Smolarek then had a shot on goal for Dortmund, but was easily held by Timo Hildebrand.

Hitzlsperger then found himself in another goalscoring situation, but his low shot was parried well by Gentenaar.

Jon Dahl Tomasson next tried to beat Gentenaar with a curling shot, but the latter was able to get hold of the ball.

Former Udinese striker Vincenzo Iaquinta then put the visitors in front when he outjumped Stuttgart captain Andreas Hinkel and headed the ball, off Degen's cross, into the goal.

Just seven minutes later, Jesper Gronkjaer equalised to the delight of the home fans. Thomas Hitzlsperger initiated the goal, when he turned the ball and made a run down the left flank, before putting in a nice ball in to the penalty box. Gronkjaer in the meantime sprinted from the right towards the goal, dived onto to the ball and found the back of the net.

A huge roar went up in the Gottlieb-Daimler stadion, when Mario Carevic's cheeky flick beat Dortmund goalkeeper Dennis Gentenaar, to put Stuttgart ahead. Carevic ran to the corner flag, jumped and punched the air, as the home fans made themselves heard.

Just before the half-time whistle, Cacau almost scored one more for the home side. From out wide, the Brazilian striker fired in a curling shot at goal but Gentenaar did brilliantly to turn it round the post. It was W?rns whose mistake led to this chance for Stuttgart.

Sebastian Kehl then received the first yellow card of the game, when he was penalised for unfairly obstrucing Jesper Gronkjaer.

At half-time, the home side was leading two goals to one.

The second half started on a sour note for Stuttgart when Fernando Meira was shown the yellow card for tripping Ebi Smolarek not too far from goal. But nothing developed from the resulting free kick.

Vincenzo Iaquinta then scored his second of the game, and got the visitors back on level terms in the 50th minute. The Italian received a perfect pass from Jan Koller and found himself in the clear. He then took the ball past the diving Ludovic Magnin and hit it straight across the face of goal and into the bottom right corner. The Italian was putting in a breath-taking display here.

But the home side again took the lead just three minutes later when Gronkjaer won the aerial challenge against Gambino and got his head to the ball, arriving via Hitzlsperger's cross, and sent it across the goalmouth. Gronkjaer's second goal of the game, and once again it was initiated by Thomas Hitzlsperger from the left flank.

Jan Koller then had two headed attempts on goal in the space of just one minute, but in both occasions, Timo Hildebrand came on top.

Dortmund's Tomas Rosicky then got the third yellow card of the game for bringing down Danjiel Ljuboja. Ljuboja had made a nice run down the centre, and was looking to find one of the strikers. Just seconds after, Iaquinta also got a yellow card for pushing Mario Carevic on the chest. The Dortmund players protested amongst boos from the large majority of the home fans, but referee Wack was having nothing of it.

Things turned from bad to worse for the visitors when Iaquinta injured himself while fighting for the ball with Thomas Hitzlsperger. The Italian who had scored both goals so far had to be substituted as a result.

But the gods must have been smiling on Dortmund today, when Ebi Smolarek got past the Stuttgart defence line, and beat Hildebrand on his near post, to make it 3-3. Smolarek removed his jersey and swung it in the air before skidding down the turf. He was soon covered by his team-mates. Only the few visiting Dortmund fans could be heard at this stage.

Sebastian Kehl then almost made it even better for those fans, but his shot was just wide of goal.

Ebi Smolarek became the fourth Dortmund player to be shown the yellow card, for holding back Gronkjaer. The decision looked a bit harsh, and the Dortmund players were furious with the referee.

Both teams then one chance each, but in both cases the respective goalkeepers were able to come out on top.

Finally as the whistle was blown, the Dortmund players and fans celebrated a remarkable comeback, after having been down twice.

After the game Stuttgart manager Claudio Ranieri blamed his team for twice letting go a lead.

"We were the better team, but in the end, all we get is a point. And it is our fault, because we did not defend when we should have, and let them come back not once, but twice. I thought after we scored our third goal, the momentum was with us, and that we had done enough. They also got a few players yellow carded, which also played to our advantage. But at time when we should have shut and defended, we allowed a player as dangerous as Smolarek space and had to pay the price for it. We have to work on our defence even harder." said Ranieri.

Dortmund manager Bert Van Maarwijk hailed his team's character and questioned the referee's decisions.

"The way we came back twice is a good indication of the unity and the bonding that is present in this squad. It was a difficult game, but still we managed to get a point out of it. We infact could have won the game, had Kehl scored, but it was a difficult chance. We also had to face some unfair decisions of the referee. Four of our players were yellow carded for no reason, and Hitzlsperger despite making such an ugly tackle on Iaquinta, who was in such good form till then, got away free. This is ridiculous," said Van Maarwijk.

Jesper Gronkjaer was named man of the match for his top class performance for the entire length of the game.

 

[m_vaughan]

Other results from Gameweek 3


Here is a look at all the results from this third gameweek. Schalke registered their third 2-0 victory to hold on to top spot, while Bayern's 1-1 draw with K?ln sees them drop to third behind Kaiserslautern who had an impressive 2-0 win over Werder Bremen.

It was a Super Sunday indeed, with defending champions Bayern held to a 1-1 draw at home by K?ln, followed by that cracking six goal thriller at the Gottlieb-Daimler stadion between Stuttgart and Dortmund.

Table: