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Sararer: Why I feel the Turkish winger offers so much to Stuttgart

Hard work. Determination. Goals. Sercan Sararer provides all three of these things on a regular basis for Bundesliga side Stuttgart. He leads the clubs scoring chart this season in the league and has statistically been their best player.

So why does everyone still refuse to believe that the 25-year-old is inferior in ability to former Stuttgart winger Martin Harnik?

Felix Magath made a huge judgement call in selling Harnik to Newcastle and bringing Sararer into a first team role at the club, but the Turk has dealt with an immense amount of pressure exceptionally. Despite his impressive stats, he still hasn't been receiving the praise which he so rightly deserves and I think this is wrong. Not only is this his first full season at Stuttgart, he's also playing under a new manager with a different style to Huub Stevens and his ability to adapt to this new play has been admirable.

He always pops up on the score sheet when his team most need him, often late in the game, picking up on rebounds ahead of defenders to snatch last gasp points. Magath clearly recognizes the ability of Sararer as he has only been dropped to the bench once so far this season but it's a shame that several pundits and hundreds of fans still pick out the few bad parts of his game.

Magath will be happy to keep the player around at The Mercedes-Benz-Arena, especially considering the interest shown in the player by 1. FC Köln earlier in the season. He continues to feature for Turkey and I hope that he gets noticed soon on a larger scale.

Written by Guido Buchwald

Vedad Ibišević hits out at Magath following transfer to Rubin Kazan

Ibišević: Stuttgart boss Felix Magath didn't respect my abilities

Bosnian striker Vedad Ibišević has launched a verbal attack on former manager Felix Magath after completing a move to Russian side Rubin Kazan.

The 30-year-old has spoken of the relief he feels now that he is able to release his pent up anger to the press due to the "severe" lack of game time he received at Stuttgart. After joining up with Rubin on Thursday after the final paperwork for his £3 million transfer went through, Ibišević was available for question about his reasons for seeking a move away from The Mercedes-Benz-Arena.

Having joined Stuttgart for £3.6 million from fellow Bundesliga side Hoffenheim, he went on to become a regular, making 72 league appearances for Die Rote. However, when Felix Magath returned for his second spell at the start of this summer, it was clear he intended to shake things up and he has been largely successful so far, leading his side to 3rd place in the table at the midway point. Of the seventeen games played in the Bundesliga by Stuttgart, Ibišević has featured in just three - all of these appearances were as a substitute.

Magath may have his reasons. His tactic accommodates just one striker, and he has shown an intent to develop youngster Timo Werner as well as giving new signing Jonathan Soriano the chance to shine. Mohammed Abdellaoue has also found himself frozen out of the side and is expected to leave the club in the current transfer window, with FC Köln interested in the Norwegian striker.

But Ibišević is perturbed at what he has perceived as a lack of respect to his abilities shown by Felix Magath.

"I'd been a part of the squad for several seasons before Magath arrived. I was just tossed aside like rubbish to make way for others. While I've no problem in being rotated, I just was not getting enough game time and I don't think that is respectful of Magath. He told me he wanted to keep me, but that I must show patience. Well, I'm sorry to disappoint fans but at this stage in my career, I don't have the time for patience."

Stuttgart's Bundesliga season kicks off again on the 24th January with a trip to Köln following the winter break.

Wow, Magath is getting a lot of hate

Boosts for Stuttgart as Fabian Schär joins while Timo Werner extends his stay

Stuttgart have completed the signing of 23-year-old Swiss defender Fabian Schär from FC Basel on a three-and-a-half year contract worth £15k per week.

The central defender had previously been a target for Barclays Premier League sides Arsenal and Liverpool but since interest from the two giants had died down, Schär instead sought to run down his contract with Basel, making the final fee a very cheap one, standing at just over £400,000.

Felix Magath's side could have pinched the Swiss international on a free transfer but would have had to wait until the summer for the player to join up with the rest of the squad. While there are several other talented centre backs already in the ranks at Stuttgart, including Angelo Ogbonna and Antonio Rüdiger, Magath clearly feels that Schär can bring something new to the team in the last half of this season.

Schär made a total of fifteen league appearances this season for Basel before joining Stuttgart and he will now want to make his name in a tougher league like the Bundesliga. He will have the perfect opportunity to do so if picked against Borussia Dortmund for what could be his debut, as second placed BVB take on third placed Stuttgart.

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Something that fans will consider to be as good as a signing is the news that young German striker Timo Werner has penned a new five year contract at The Mercedes-Benz-Arena.

The 18-year-old has been a first team regular at Stuttgart since his breakthrough season last year, and has made 17 appearances under Magath's management, scoring six goals.

What is most eyecatching about this development is the huge release clause inserted into the contract.

If Stuttgart receive a bid of £52m from a team competing in the UEFA Champions League, they will have to accept, providing a huge windfall for future purchases.

VfB Stuttgart - January 2015 Results

Only three games this month for Stuttgart after returning from the winter break, but tough games nonetheless, as they took on FC Koln, Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen. Their unbeaten run in the Bundesliga came to an end against Koln.


FC Köln 2-1 Stuttgart
Marcel Risse (57), Yannick Gerhardt (64)
Jonathan Soriano (90+2)
Marcel Risse, 8.3 (Köln)

It was all too little too late for Stuttgart who grabbed a late goal to try to salvage something from the game to prevent their unbeaten streak from ending but it was in vain. Fair play to Köln who defended well for the majority of the game. An outstanding goal from Gerhardt.

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Stuttgart 2-0 Borussia Dortmund
Fabian Schär (Pen 84), Jonathan Soriano (89)
Mats Hummels, 8.2 (BVB)

A great debut for Fabian Schär who put Stuttgart into the lead late on after Soriano was brought down by Hummels in the area. A possible season changer for both sides. Soriano netted another late on to see off any challenge from Dortmund but in truth, it was all Stuttgart.

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Stuttgart 0-0 Bayer Leverkusen
Ömer Toprak, 7.3 (BVB)

Brilliant win over Borussia Dortmund! Though Bayern looks out of reach, you're gaining on Dortmund and it looks like you'll seal up a Champions League spot!

Hope he's a good signing for you And here's a little treat.

Schargain

VfB Stuttgart transfers - Winter 2015

And now for a roundup of all of Stuttgart's winter transfers.

Arrivals

Not many signings for Magath's side in this transfer window as his side continue to sit high up the table, but he made a very cheap signing in Fabian Schär. The Swiss defender, capped ten times by his country, comes in having impressed during his time at FC Basel. Still fairly young, he should find his footing in the team fairly quickly.




Stuttgart signed the South Korean defender from fellow Bundesliga side Mainz, and it is thought that he will serve as a backup option to Konstantin Rausch when he returns from Asian Champions League duty. Again, a small fee due to the short time left on his contract. Works well as part of a team.

Vedad Ibišević, £3m
CA:
PA:

After his famous falling out with Felix Magath, Bosnian striker Ibišević transferred to Rubin Kazan for £3m with the hope of playing regular first team football for the Russian side. He fell down the pecking order at The Mercedes-Benz-Arena behind the likes of Timo Werner and Jonathan Soriano.

Very nice signing in Schär. Great player and great price!

VfB Stuttgart - February Results

Stuttgart have been on fire for the most part of this year, so this month wasn't up to their regular standard. They played Borussia Mönchengladbach, VfL Wolfsburg, Hannover 96 and Werder Bremen. Despite what would be considered a poor month for Die Rote, they ended on a high with a win over Werder Bremen.


Borussia Mönchengladbach 0-0 Stuttgart
Antonio Rüdiger, 7.3

A draw was a good result for Stuttgart who kept the gap between themselves and Gladbach at 5 points. Defensively excellent, as were the opponents. Not many clear chances.

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Stuttgart 0-1 VfL Wolfsburg
André Schürrle (23)
Kevin De Bruyne, 8.3

Defeat to an underachieving Wolfsburg will have been difficult to swallow for Magath's side but the performance was good and they deserved more. Hopefully this will be a boost for Wolfsburg, who have shown faith in their manager Dieter Hecking following Magath's words of support for him prior to the game.

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Hannover 96 1-1 Stuttgart
Hiroshi Kiyotake (66)
Carlos Gruezo (84)
Carlos Gruezo, 8.7

Very even game, with a draw being the fairest outcome. A late goal from Stuttgart earned them the point, but what a goal it was from Gruezo who caused problems for Hannover all game with some brilliant passing play.

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Stuttgart 5-2 Werder Bremen
Sercan Sararer (3, 75), Adam Hlousek (19), Christian Gentner (51), Damián Escudero (53)
Franco Di Santo (25), Davie Selke (64)
Sercan Sararer, 9.2


A brilliant win for Stuttgart as they hammered Werder Bremen. They dominated from start to finish and passed the ball brillianty. Not a single Stuttgart player had a bad game. A particular highlight was a free-kick from Escudero which found its way into the net from 30 yards out. The Argentinian continues to impress following a rocky start to life at his new club.

Maxim unsettled yet again after interest from Schalke

For the second time this season, Stuttgart's Romanian attacking midfielder Alexandru Maxim has spoken of his desire to leave the club.

After confirmed interest from Bundesliga rivals Schalke, Maxim has broken hearts (again) by going on record about his interest in joining them.

Manager Felix Magath has given a lot of home truths about the player, who he claims threatened to disrupt the team if he wasn't allowed to leave. "I wasn't having that. Any player who can make such threats doesn't deserve to play for a team like ours. He is a brilliant player but I'm sorry, his attitude is just not acceptable and I hope for his sake that he can get it right before too long."

Maxim has been used as a rotation option in the Stuttgart side following the arrival of Damián Escudero in the summer. While normally a winger, he has been playing well in Maxim's attacking midfielder position and has kept the 24-year-old out of the squad on many occasions.

Maxim may be considered a big loss for Stuttgart as he is currently their player with the most assists (8) but with the £10M fee that Stuttgart are thought to have placed on him, it could benefit them financially if he was to leave.

VfB Stuttgart - March Results

Two losses in what was an unimpressive month all round for Stuttgart. They came up against Bayern Munich, Hertha Berlin and Eintracht Frankfurt as they continued their hunt for UEFA Champions League Qualification.


Bayern Munich 2-0 Stuttgart
Arjen Robben (68), Thomas Müller (76)
Antonio Rüdiger, 7.5

Stuttgart kept the league leaders at bay for the majority of the match but it was always going to be difficult and they were eventually broken down late on. Were on the back foot, albeit intentionally from the start.

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Stuttgart 2-0 Hertha Berlin
Christian Genter (37), Antonio Rüdiger (62)
Antonio Rüdiger, 7.8

Stuttgart bounced back well with a 2-0 win at home after a dominant performance. Antonio Rüdiger was chosen as the Man of the Match for the second consecutive game after some outstanding defensive performances. Stuttgart keep their third place spot.

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Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2 Stuttgart
Haris Seferovic (8, 67), Constant Djakpa (84)
Damián Escudero (15), Carlos Gruezo (37)
Haris Seferovic, 8.8

Stuttgart came from behind to hold a 1-2 lead going into half time and really should not have lost the game from that position. A late goal from Djakpa earned Frankfurt the 3 points but Stuttgart will be frustrated that they threw away the lead.

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Magath extends Stuttgart stay until 2017

Stuttgart chairman Bernd Wahler has confirmed the rumours that manager Felix Magath has signed a new contract at the club that will see him remain in charge until 2017.

Magath was initially offered a one year contract following the resignation of Huub Stevens and has impressed in his first season back at The Mercedes-Benz-Arena, leading his side to third place and potentially UEFA Champions League qualification come the end of the season.

Fans have warmed to the former Fulham manager quickly after much skepticism following the announcement of his arrival in the summer.

While his signings haven't been amazing (Jonathan Soriano scoring only a handful of goals over the course of the season so far) he has done well to get some good players with a limited budget, which was only made possible through the sale of Martin Harnik, something Magath himself sanctioned.

He has also got the rest of the existing Stuttgart team working well together, notably Antonio Rüdiger who continues to impress at the heart of defence.

The fans have been delighted that Magath has continued to use Timo Werner in the team to give him crucial experience, much like the manager before him.

Early signs in his second spell at Stuttgart are positive and Die Rote look to have a bright future under his management.

VfB Stuttgart - April Results

Winning all of their games this month, it seems like Stuttgart are stepping it up when they most need to and they look likely for a UEFA Champions League spot if their good form can continue until the end of the season.


Stuttgart 1-0 FC Augsburg
Timo Werner (24)
Pierre Højbjerg, 8.0 (AUG)

A deserved and necessary win over a team who weren't too far behind Stuttgart just a few weeks ago. They move one step closer to qualifying for the Champions League under Magath - last month there were questions raised but this victory may go some way to silencing any doubters.

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FSV Mainz 0-2 Stuttgart

Sercan Sararer (58), Carlos Gruezo (90+1)

Carlos Gruezo, 9.0 (VfB)

Two second half goals were enough to give Stuttgart a gutsy away victory in Mainz. Sararer netted his 10th league goal of the season as Stuttgart pinched another win to extend their win streak to two games - they have also gone two games without conceding, with some great defensive displays on show.

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Stuttgart 2-0 TSG Hoffenheim
Christian Gentner (17), Timo Werner (Pen 58)
Christian Gentner, 8.6 (VfB)

A crucial win in this game against fifth placed Hoffenheim which increased the point difference between the two sides to nine. Gentner produced a real captain's display, tracking back well to help his side keep another clean sheet and also grabbing a vital goal early on to set the tone of the game. Great performance all round in this match as Stuttgart dominated.