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

[m_vaughan]

(18.10.2005)


Herman Olicher contacted Ranieri today saying that AS Monaco had accepted for a one week trial of Frederic Nimani at VfB Stuttgart. Another of his scouts was in deep talks with FC Kaiserslautern for the availability of Stefan Keissling.

The players also reported back for training after a two day break. Ranieri was still without Cacau, and the plan was to stick to Saturday's winning team, means Carevic would once again start upfront along side Tomasson. His replacement in the attacking midfield position, Danijel Ljuboja had a cracking game against Hamburg, scoring two goals.

Ranieri and his coaching staff got the training sessions underway. The players started off with their warm-ups before doing the regular schedules. A lot of time was spent on passing and crossing aspects of the game as Ranieri wanted his players to make optimum use of the flanks against Auxerre.

Then tragedy struck!

Thomas Hitzlsperger, one of Stuttgart's crucial lads strained his ankle while training and the physios said they werent sure if he would recover in time for the match.

Hitzlsperger picks up an injury in training

That night Ranieri and his coaching staff were deep in conversation, discussing whom to play on the left flank should Hitzlsperger not be able to play. Some said playing Genter in a 4-5-1 midfield with Carevic on the left flank and Tomasson as the lone striker. Ranieri too was happy with this, but assistant manager Andreas Brehme was of the opinion that Gronkjaer should be tried on the left and Christian Tiffert on the right. Some even mentioned the name of Daniel Bierofka, a player who had fallen out of favour since Ranieri's arrival, but was putting in some good performances for the reserves.

 

[m_vaughan]

Santini starts mind games

Santini questions Stuttgart defence

Wednesday 19 September 2005

Auxerre manager Jacques Santini has had a go at his UEFA Cup opponents Stuttgart by raising doubts over their defence.

"In the Bundesliga they have conceded thirteen goals from eight games, and only two more teams have let in more. And both those teams are in the lower end of the table. They have got an Italian manager so you would have expected them to become solid at the back but something is going wrong somewhere. As far as we are concerned, I am confident we have the players and the tactics to exploit their defensive weaknesses," said Santini.

Stuttgart host Auxerre in the UEFA Cup Group G game at the Gottlieb-Daimler stadion and the reds are without striker Cacau and most probably midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger for the tie.

 

[Bala]

And I would have accepted if those words were spoken by just about anyone other than Santini! What a bore that guy is! I am backing Stuttgart to ram home an easy win.

 

[m_vaughan]

(19.10.2005)

Claudio Ranieri was handed the bad news in the morning that midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger is almost certainly ruled out for tomorrow's UEFA Cup game against Auxerre. The German international did however report to the training ground and was basically observing his team-mates do their schedules and exercises.

Daniel Bierofka could replace injured Hitzlsperger

So the whole question now was who to play on the left. There is Jesper Gronkjaer, who till now has been operating on the right, but can play on the left. In this case his position can be taken by Christian Tiffert. Ranieri can play Daniel Bierofka, Mario Carevic, or Ludovic Magnin on the left as well.

Ranieri organising his team's training

In the meantime the players after training in groups, practiced passage play, free kicks, corners, penalties, throw-ins, crosses, shooting, tackling, defending, offside trap, etc as a unit under the watchful eyes of Ranieri and Brehme. Ranieri made the defenders practice the offside trap again and again clearly indicating his intentions of combating the Auxerre strikers.

After training Ranieri was also forced to talk to the press who had been at the club's training ground for a long time in order to get the manager's response to the comments made by Auxerre coach Jacques Santini.

Ranieri told the press:

"Although I do agree that we have let in a goal too many, one must also realise that we have scored the most number of goals in the league. So the real test or concern for Auxerre should be how to stop us from scoring. But we have been working hard on our defence as well and I think we are a lot more solid now then we were at the start of the season."

 

[m_vaughan]

UEFA Cup
Group G
VfB Stuttgart vs AJ Auxerre
Gottlieb-Daimler stadion, Stuttgart

Thursday 20 October 2005

A rather disappointing 39,092 are in attendance at the Gottlieb-Daimler stadion for the UEFA Cup Group G game between Stuttgart and Auxerre. The last two Bundesliga matches at the same venue had drawn capacity crowds.

The weather is clear, dry and cold with temperatures of around 8 degrees centigrade.

The two teams have put out the following lineups for tonight's game:

Subs:
Stuttgart-
34 Alexander Stolz, 13 Christian Tiffert, 7 Silvio Meissner, 9 Marco Strellar, 40 Christian Genter, 5 Markus Babbel, 33 Mario Gomez

Auxerre-
12 Antoine Robert, 14 Laurent Chariot, 16 Christian Padovani, 17 Gregory Paris, 19 Ludovic Renard

The home side stick to their tried, tested and now successful 4-4-2 diamond formation. Carevic starts upfront once again and Ludovic Magnin plays on the left wing deputising for the injured Thomas Hitzlsperger. Daniel Bierofka doesnt even make it to the bench.

Jacques Santini's side are playing a rather unusual 3-5-2 formation with both the full backs looking to provide the width. However it doesnt really back the attacking intent that Santini was speaking of in the build up to this game. The man to watch out for is Peguy Luyindula who is always a threat in front of goal.

So all said and done the match is ready to begin and the referee for this game is England's Dermot Gallagher.

 

[Left_Hander]

I think Stuttgart will be just good enough for Auxerre. 2-1 to the boys from Germany.

 

[m_vaughan]

Tomasson shines in Stuttgart win

UEFA Cup
Group G
VfB Stuttgart vs AJ Auxerre
Gottlieb-Daimler stadion, Stuttgart

Thursday 20 October 2005

The Result:

Goals:

A very professional and efficient performance from Claudio Ranieri's side sees them earn a crucial and much deserved victory over Auxerre. The home side dominated most of the game having a total of 6 shots on goal and allowing Auxerre just two. Although it must be said the the visitors did have a slightly greater share of the possession.

Stuttgart took the lead early in the first half through Danijel Ljuboja after Jon Dahl Tomasson did brilliantly to get the ball inside the area and pass it right in front of a sprinting Ljuboja. The Serbian player buried the ball into the Auxerre goal without too much problem. A brilliant start for Ranieri's boys putting their opponents on the backfoot right from the start. Neither team had too many chances though after that in the first half. Ljuboja had one more for Stuttgart that hit the bar, and Luyindula and Kitambala had half chances for Auxerre. But despite that Stuttgart pretty much enjoyed a better first half and made Auxerre defend.

The second half was a bit more lively. Tomasson doubled Stuttgart's lead in the 53rd minute when the Danish international latched onto a rebound after Mohammad Benhamou had punched away Ljuboja's long range strike. Tomasson and Ljuboja who were also involved in the first goal celebrated in front of the ecstatic Stuttgart fans.

Ljuboja and Tomasson celebrate Stuttgart's second goal

Mario Gomez who came on for Mario Carevic in the 60th minute of play had a brilliant chance in the dying stages of the game but Benhamou did extremely well to prevent him from scoring.

Dermot Gallagher blew the final whistle as Stuttgart started their UEFA Cup Group stage campaign with an impressive win. Jacques Santini's side were disappointing though and never really looked to be in the game.

Jon Dahl Tomasson and Danijel Ljuboja both had a brilliant match, but the former won the race for the man of the match award. Others who did well were the two defenders Anders Hinkel and Boris Zivkovic, even though the Stuttgart backline was hardly troubled. In Hitzlsperger's absence Stuttgart orchestrated most of the runs down the right flank with Jesper Gronkjaer playing a crucial role. Ludovic Magnin though it must be said did more than a fair job on the left. For Auxerre, Didier Rodrigues and Antoine Perrin were the only two players who had a good game. The rest were very disappointing including their main man upfront Peguy Luyindula.

Stats:

Soccernet Match Report containing full match details and interviews next...

 

[Left_Hander]

Good win for the boys from Germany. Your defence was pretty strong, you can't lose a game if you don't let a goal in .

,
Left_Hander

 

[Bala]

So what does Mr. Jaques "The world's biggest bore" Santini has to say now? Clinical execution by the Tinkerman's boys!

 

[m_vaughan]

Report

Clinical Stuttgart beat Auxerre

Thursday 20 October 2005

Stuttgart players celebrate the opening goal

Stuttgart put in an efficient and clinical display at home to beat Jacques Santini's Auxerre side 2-0 in their opening Group G encounter of the UEFA Cup. Goals from Danijel Ljuboja and Jon Dahl Tomasson in either half ensured the Reds three points from the fixture.

A crowd of just less than 40,000 was present at the Gottlieb-Daimler stadion for this crucial game. Prior to the match Jacques Santini had launched an attack on Stuttgart's defence stating that they were very vulnerable. But in the sixth minute of play it was the Auxerre backline at fault when Jon Dahl Tomasson's pin point pass was received and drilled into the back of the net by Serbian playmaker Danijel Ljuboja. Why was Tomasson not stopped before by the Auxerre defenders is clearly not understandable.

Ljuboja then had another chance a little later when he received a fine through ball from Fernando Meira but his shot only managed to hit the bar, much to the dismay of Ljuboja himself and the Stuttgart fans who had almost started celebrating a second goal.

Jon Dahl Tomasson and Thomas Hitzlsperger looked to have combined well in a counter-attack for the homeside, but goalkeeper Mohammad Benhamou was able to get to the ball before the Danish international. Stuttgart were clearly enjoying a better half.

Auxerre's best chance came when Puguy Luyindula found some space not too far from goal but his shot was parried away rather easily by Timo Hildebrand.

At half-time Stuttgart led by a goal to nil. And manager Claudio Ranieri made just one change at the break with defender Marcel Schuon being replaced by the more experienced Markus Babbel.

Stuttgart struck early in the second half as well to go 2-0 up when Jon Dahl Tomasson scored from the rebound after Benhamou had initially punched back a long range strike from Ljuboja. Once again an unmarked Tomasson was the first to pounce on the rebound and take a comfortable two goal lead at the Gottlieb-Daimler stadion. Once again it was Ljuboja and Tomasson who were involved in the goal.

An excellent and last minute intervention from Antoine Perrin prevented Jesper Gronkjaer from picking up either Mario Carevic or Tomasson which would in turn would almost certainly put the home side three up.

Ranieri then made his second change of the night bringing on Mario Gomez for Mario Carevic. Auxerre also replaced David Sanchez and Lynel Kitambala with Ludovic Renard and Laurent Charlot respectively.

Auxerre then had their best chance of the game with Ludovic Pandovani played a nice one-two with the substitute Renard before going for the near post. Hildebrand however was able to just tip it out for a corner. Pandovani had his hands behind his head in dispair. It was a golden oppurtunity.

Both teams then made their final batch of substitutions with Christian Tiffert coming on for Danijel Ljuboja for the home side and Gregory Paris replacing Mathieu Robin for the visitors.

Mario Gomez came close in the final stages of the game when he found himself one on one with the keeper, but Benhamou rather courageously jumped and grabbed the ball from Gomez' feet. Once again the Stuttgart fans were left ruing for what could and should have been another goal.

Nevertheless it dint matter in the end as Stuttgart won the game by two goals to nil. Ranieri shook hands with Santini and the match officials before going out to the middle and congratulating his players and then waving to the singing and chanting fans.

After that he was interviewed by the TV team and the Italian had this to say:

"A good performance once again. Auxerre are a good side and have some very good players but today we definately played the better football and deserve the victory. It was a team performance and hence I must congratulate the entire team for the win.

I am particularly happy to start off this group stage with a win. Our previous two European games werent very convincing so today was important for us. Now we will have to focus back on the Bundesliga and try and continue our good form from this game."

His opposite number Jacques Santini said that his team had underperformed and was also the victim of bad refereeing.

"This wasnt how I had planned and we were nowhere near our best tonight. Congratulations to Stuttgart on the win but they did have their fair share of luck with the referee's decisions. I know thats not an excuse but sometimes small small things like these when combined together can affect the performance and result of matches," said a rather grum looking Santini.

Man of the match Jon Dahl Tomasson was also pleased with the win and hoped that they could end up topping the group.

"It was a good win for us and the perfect start in this group stage. Although the main thing for us is to qualify to the next round, we would like to do that by finishing on top of the group. Auxerre are one of the better sides in this competition so by beating them we have got off to the right track. And as far as I am concerned I will try my best to continue scoring more goals for Stuttgart in both domestic and european games," said Tomasson.

 

[m_vaughan]

Group G results and standings..

Four of the five teams from Group G were in action last night and here are the results:

Stuttgart impressive in their 2-0 win at home while Krylja Sovetov causing an upset against Italian side Palermo.

Spanish side Espanyol play on the next matchday while Stuttgart return in matchday 3.

 

[usy]

That good win, the story looks good to me, welldone mate.

 

[m_vaughan]

(20.10.2005-23.10.2005)


Stuttgart have bounced back well since their 1-2 defeat to Bayern. Two wins over Hamburg and Auxerre in the Bundesliga and UEFA Cup respectively have drawn praises from fans and pundits alike.

However Ranieri's boys just had two days to prepare for the next game, against Eintracht Frankfurt, and that too an away fixture. As a result the european victory celebrations were short-lived as the players resumed training on Friday. A good news for Ranieri was that Thomas Hitzlsperger seemed to have recovered considerably well and could be fit for the game.

Danijel Ljuboja's form in attacking midfield has been so impressive that Ranieri is going to continue playing him at that position which until Cacau's injury was Mario Carevic's spot. The Croatian however has not been very comfortable in his new forward position, which is another thing to consider for Ranieri and his coaching staff.

Nevertheless the players carried on their training schedules over the next two days, and on Saturday, Hitzlsperger was seen doing most of the exercises and tasks, much to the delight of his manager. Physio Kolodziej was confident that the former Aston Villa player would play against Eintracht Frankfurt.

On Saturday after training, Boris Zivkovic, Fernando Meira and Ivan Gonzalez were present at the club's shop for an autograph session with the fans.

Then on Sunday, the squad departed for Frankfurt. On reaching there and after having a taken a break the squad did a final training session at Eintracht Frankfurt's Commerzbank Arena.

Ranieri and Brehme lectured the team for the final time before they headed for the dressing rooms.

 

[m_vaughan]

Stuttgart face Frankfurt test

Sunday 23 October 2005

Timo Hildebrand in action for VfB Stuttgart

Claudio Ranieri's VfB Stuttgart side will be looking to continue their good form against Frankfurt at the Commerzbank Arena. The Reds are on the back of successive victories over Hamburg in the Bundesliga and Auxerre in the UEFA Cup.

Also rumours suggest that talented midfielder and German international, Thomas Hitzlsperger will be fit for playing after missing out on the midweek game against Auxerre.

Two players who are in top form for Stuttgart are Danijel Ljuboja and Thomas Hitzlsperger. Both have scored five goals already this season and are largely responsible for Stuttgart's good start.

Chairman Erwin Staudt is full of praise of his team ahead of the game.

"We have done well so far and the players and staff have given it their absolute best. If we maintain this I am confident that we will have a good season," said Staudt.

Eintracht Frankfurt on the other hand have not won a match in the Bundesliga since the 2-0 win over Duisburg on the opening day. As a result they lie second from bottom with just four points from the first eight games. Manager Friedhelm Funkel has some good news though, with Jermaine Jones ready to play again after missing the last three weeks due to injury.

Funkel however believes that his team need to up their game as a unit to stand a chance of winning against Stuttgart.

"It is good to have Jermaine back, but he cant do anything alone and the entire team has to work harder and improve. We have to show more ambition on the field for which we need the full support of the fans as well. Here is hoping for the best."

 

[m_vaughan]

Eintracht Frankfurt vs VfB Stuttgart

Bundesliga Gameweek 9
Eintracht Frankfurt vs VfB Stuttgart
Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt

Struggling Frankfurt host an inform Stuttgart side at the Commerzbank-Arena. 28,144 are present in attendance at the ground. The weather is dry and the current temperature stands as 14 degrees centigrade.

Lineups:

Subs:
Frankfurt-
61 Peter Kern, 62 Benjamin Haydel, 8 Christian Lang, 64 Stefan Rehm, 25 Alexander Huber, 33 Marko Rehmer, 10 Markus Weissenberger

Stuttgart-
34 Alexander Stolz, 13 Christian Tiffert, 7 Silvio Meissner, 21 Ludovic Magnin, 40 Christian Genter, 5 Markus Babbel, 33 Mario Gomez

Both teams have crucial players returning after injury spells. Jermaine Jones makes his comeback after a three week layoff while Thomas Hitzlsperger missed the midweek european tie against Auxerre.

Hitzlsperger's return sees Ludovic Magnin back on the bench while Marco Strellar is pushed out.