VfB Stuttgart

[Oliver_Kahn]

VfB Stuttgart boss Armin Veh looks set to sign a new one-year contract extension.

Club president Erwin Staudt revealed the news on Wednesday, saying that Veh would put pen-to-paper on the deal when he and his team return to Germany from their winter training camp in Dubai:

"We have reached a verbal agreement on all the major points. All we have to do now is put things down on paper," Staudt commented after visiting the team in the Middle East.

Veh joined the Swabians originally as a stop-gap measure following the departure of Giovanni Trapattoni in February 2006.

This season he has led the team to a highly respectable fourth place in the Bundesliga, just four points behind leaders Werder Bremen, and has now been rewarded for his efforts with a contract through to June 2008.

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[Oliver_Kahn]

He's doing a great job at Stuttgart, they are currently 4th in the Bundesliga.

[Oliver_Kahn]

In their third test match of the year, Stuttgart suffered their third defeat.


The Red-whites, who are currently fourth in the Bundesliga table, lost on the last day of their 9-day training camp in Dubai 1-2 (ht 0-0) against Dynamo Kiev.

Tomasson on target

Jon Dahl Tomasson scored the temporary equaliser for the Swabians (78) after Algerian Ayala Yussuf had given the Ukrainians, who three days prior had thrashed Hamburg SV 4-1, the lead (51).

One man down

In the 85th minute Yussuf was sent off after a foul on Christian Gentner. Moments later Maxim Schatskikh scored the winner for Dynamo.

Stuttgart had already lost their first two matches in Dubai, 1-2 against the national team of the United Arab Emirates, and 0-1 against Iran.

[Oliver_Kahn]

Former Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers defender Markus Babbel has said he is likely to retire from the game due to ongoing knee injuries.

The 34-year-old left back, who is currently contracted to Stuttgart commented: "That way it looks now, I'll call it a day. I was always a player that could be counted on to perform. I'm not able to do that any more."

Babbel also revealed his plans for the future, stating: "I will do my coaching badge, Sooner or later I would like to work as a coach in the Bundesliga."

Babbel has won 51 caps for Germany, and was part of the squad that won became European Champions in 1996.

Babbel set for retirement - Football - Eurosport

[Oliver_Kahn]

Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart put in an impressive performance in a friendly against Swiss top-flight outfit Grasshoppers from Zurich.


Mario Gomez opened the scoring after just three minutes before Cacau doubled VfB's lead after eleven minutes.

Antonio da Silva made it three after a quarter of an hour and Gomez scored his second midway through the first half.

Gomez hat-trick

Two minutes before half-time Gomez completed his hat-trick with a great strike into the top corner.

Roberto Hilbert and Marco Streller (2) got on the scoresheet for VfB in the second half, Frank Feltscher scored a consolation goal for the Swiss team as the match ended 8-1.

VfB Stuttgart line-up:Hildebrand - Osorio, Tasci (Hilbert 46), Delpierre (Boka 46), Beck - Meira, Pardo (Gentner 61), Hitzlsperger, da Silva (Weis 61) - Cacau (Tomasson 46), Gomez (Streller 46).

[Oliver_Kahn]

Raphael Schäfer and Timo Hildebrand are amongst the best goalkeepers in Germany, which is why we at bundesliga.de have scrutinized their careers.


One of the classic goalkeeper jokes goes like this: A mother had three sons. The first was a goalkeeper, the second was a left forward, and the third one wasn´t quite right in the head, either.

Against the old cliché

But Timo Hildebrand doesn´t find that old groaner funny at all. He is actually regarded as one of the quiet and cool-headed representatives of his guild, whom the old cliché of the "mad goalie” doesn´t fit in the slightest.

"I try to stay grounded”, says Hildebrand who left his home club FV 1911 Hofheim/Ried in 1995 at the age of sixteen to join VfB Stuttgart´s youth academy.

His parents - his dad is a railway employee, his mom a shop assistant - have made sure that their son would stay "normal”.

Another big influence on Hildebrand was the year at the Bundeswehr where he did his basic military service. That was before he played his first ever match in the Bundesliga on November 11th, 1999.

”Owe everything to VfB”

But it was the time ain Stuttgart´s youth team and later that in their amateur team that made Hildebrand an exceptionally good and, for his young age, exceptionally mature goalkeeper who, on his personal website, declares that "everything I am, I owe to VfB Stuttgart.”

The 6.1 ft tall, blonde-haired keeper, whose main hobbies are listening to music, meeting friends, surfing the internet and going to the theatre, has meanwhile played 205 matches in the Bundesliga for Stuttgart.

Add to that 23 matches in the Champions League and in the Uefa Cup, and five matches with the German national team. Still unforgotten is his record of 2003, when he didn´t concede a goal for 884 minutes!

Secret Nuremberg sweeper

Nuremberg´s Raphael Schäfer even bears two characteristics that are usually seen as "signs of madness” amongst footballers: not only is he a goalie, he´s also left-footed. But he, too, isn t impressed by the cliché of the "madman between the posts”.

The keeper, who would love to play for Arsenal F.C. at some point in his career, appears very calm and confident on the pitch. Characteristics he needs as a "playing goalie”, and his coach Hans Meyer doesn´t call him his "secret sweeper” without reason.

Schäfer was (just like Hildebrand) born in 1979 in Heydebreck-Cosel in Poland and learned his trade at SC Drispenstedt. His career wasn´t as rapid as Hildebrand´s but there was constant progress.

The shepherd and the wolve

In 1991 he joined the youth academy at Hannover 96, in 1997 he became part of their reserves. One year later he left "The Reds” because he didn´t see a chance to break into their first team, and signed with Regionalliga (third division) club VfB Lübeck where he quickly became their Number One in goal.

When he received an offer from FCN three years later the 6.2 ft keeper didn´t hesitate but packed his suitcases and moved down to Franconia. There, in the 2002/03 season in the 2. Bundesliga, he had his breakthrough, when former FCN-coach Wolfgang Wolf made him No.One goalie at the "Club”.

Schäfer thanked his coach with brilliant saves, defied all his critics, and in July 2004 finally was awarded the coveted shirt with the "1” on the back.

Last season Schäfer had his final public breakthrough after regularly exasperating other team´s strikers with outstanding reflexes.

Exzellent statistics

This season both Hildebrand and Schäfer have proven that they are amongst the greatest goalkeeping talents in Germany.

Both have played all seventeen Bundesliga matches from the start, and Schäfer only missed the last sixty minutes of the last match before the winter break against Hanover when he was forced to leave the pitch with a knee ligament injury.

Together with Wolfsburg´s Simon Jentzsch, Schäfer conceded the least goals in the league (16), and Hildebrand´s statistics are just slightly inferior (19).

Srikers despair

Stuttgart´s goalie, however, has had more clean sheets. He did not concede in seven matches, whereas Schäfer only had five matches in which he didn´t have to pick the ball out of his net.

Schäfer is very good inside the box where he managed to clear the ball 34 times. Hildebrand, however, has been very successful outside his "natural habitat”.

31 times he interrupted an attack of the opposition outside the penalty area, thus proving his exceptional footballing qualities.

A different kind of air security

Both keepers also are very good in the air. Hildebrand, whose motto with high balls is "rather catching than panching away” has only dropped one of nineteen balls that came his way.

Schäfer even has a 100% record: he "culled” all 21 high balls that sailed into his box.

This coming Saturday the two top goalies face each other. The strikers of both VfB Stuttgart and 1.FC Nürnberg should prepare themselves for an unusually hard day at work.

[Oliver_Kahn]

Stuttgart with a terrible performance, lost 4-1 at Nurenberg and missed the chance to catch Bayern in 3rd place

[Trim]

I was hoping for Stuttgart's loss. But I never thought they'd loose 4-1.

[Oliver_Kahn]

Me neither, but I had a gut feeling that Nurenberg would win this one.

Remenber Stuttgart lost 3-0 at home to Nurenberg in MD 1.

[Oliver_Kahn]

VfB defender Serdar Tasci has been suspended for two matches following his sending-off in Nuremberg.


The DFB disciplinary panel handed Tasci a two-match suspension.

Sent off for a foul

Tasci had been given his marching orders after 58 minutes for a foul on Nuremberg's Javier Horacio Pinalo.

Tasci will miss Stuttgart's matches against Arminia Bielefeld and Borussia Dortmund.

[Trim]

Never saw the tackle. Should have been harsh I guess..

[Oliver_Kahn]

Stuttgart beat Bielefeld 3-2 and are now in 3rd place

[Oliver_Kahn]

Stuttgart with a great win away, at Dortmund. 1-0 the final score

[Trim]

Stuttgart did good in the last 2 matches, using Bayern's draw and defeat to get 4 points clear.