VfB Stuttgart - Reviving The Reds

Stuttgart fire Labbadia

"VfB have parted company with head coach Bruno Labbadia with immediate effect," announced the German club on social networking site Twitter.

The decision to sack Labbadia is not a simple lack of patience or knee-jerkism, however. Labbadia's end had been coming for a while. Last season alone he was a (well-coiffed) hair's breadth away from getting the sack a couple of times but his inconsistent, maddeningly unbalanced team scraped together just enough wins to stave off the axe.

Stuttgart had decided to retain Labbadia to save themselves money that would have to be shelled out in compensation, which they intended to use to bolster their squad for the next Bundesliga campaign. But a total breakdown in relations between Labbadia and managing director Fredi Bobic has seen Labbadia walk out the door at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

His biggest problem, though, was a lack of compatibility with the club's aspirational ethos, as expressed by the relentlessly up-beat Bobic. "This is the end of story about an unlikely couple," wrote Süddeutsche Zeitung. "On the one hand Bobic, the visionary, a positive guy who loves talking about grand plans. On the other Labbadia, the guy who hits the brake, a bone-dry realist who loves dismissing grand plans." A sarcastic quip about what he felt were over-ambitious expectations of a top-five finish ("It's not as if we have bought Messi and Neymar") cost him a lot of support.


His 988 days in charge amounted to an eternity, by Stuttgart standards. Only Christoph Daum, Armin Veh and Felix Magath - who Stuttgart are trying to re-employ - lasted longer than him since the founding of the Bundesliga.

Those stats speak of a club that has been yearning in vain for long-lasting success, a potential superpower that has often been its own worst enemy by way of boardroom decisions and a climate of constant tension. In that they are not alone in this league. But Labbadia should have known that the minimum requirement for a manager in Swabia is at least to flirt with greatness occasionally, instead of rejecting those dreams as baseless pretensions.

Stuttgart's shortlist of managers include the aforementioned Magath, Fulham boss Martin Jol and former Chelsea manager Roberto di Matteo.

We want Felix!!!

Good start,good luck with the story. I will be following

Christoph Daum <3

Errr Arvind, there was sort of no need for that update considering Labbadia was sacked a week ago. Although I see it's the start of the season and in the game he would not have been sacked yet.

Despite all of this, it's a really good update and I look forward to the rest of the story

@BayernAmerica: We'll see

@Radders: Thanks mate

@Louis: Err...okay

@Jozef: He was sacked after just 3 league games But I felt that introducing my manager right at the start was not the right way to go. Thanks for commenting.

The Vultures Are Circling

While Stuttgart are on a hunt for a new manager, it seems that several top clubs in Europe are hunting Die Schwaben's best players.

Managing Director Fredi Bobic has moved swiftly to reject Aston Villa's enquiry about Japanese full-back Gotuku Sakai, but there is not much the Reds can do if Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain follow up their interest in Germany international defender Serdar Tasci with a bid of £13m - which would activate the release clause in the 25-year-old's contract.


And worryingly for Stuttgart, Tasci is one of only two recognized center-halfs in the first-team squad - the other being the very average Georg Niedermeier. Furthermore, the loss of the team captain would be a devastating blow to team morale as well as the fans.


Last season's hero Martin Harnik - who netted 17 times - and Bosnian striker Vedad Ibisevic are both in the sights of moneybags outfit Monaco, but the duo have also been targeted by two Premier League clubs each.

The loss of any one - if not all four - of these players would prove to be a significant setback in Die Roten's aim of a finish in the Europa League spots. And with a manager yet to fill in the vacancy, it is understood that the players are not sure about committing themselves to the club.

Great couple of updates Arvind. I like Stuttgart so will follow. I am still trying to guess the new manager...

Great updates. Stuttgart are a team that have slowly fallen out in the NBundesliga

Brilliant so far Arvind! Good Luck with this

Great update, those guys are the spine of the team. Also how good is Gentner?

Great start!

I like Stuttgart, so I'm pleased someone of your caliber is writing a manager story with them. Great job and best of luck.

@Walter: Keep trying!

@Jeremy: They won the title not too long ago, but their descent from the top has been quite quick, I have a bit of a challenge on my hands to turn them into a title-challenging team in the next 2-3 years.

@Jason: Thanks.

@Jozef: Overall he's a decent player, but his stats are a bit misplaced, if you ask me. He's good good atts here and there, but he's not suited to play any role in particular.

@Nic: My calibre? Why thank you! And I might need a bit of luck too, so thanks

God damn it Arvind, revive this!

Great updates mate! Worth following