A year of highs and lows for Stuttgart ended with a narrow defeat in the German Cup final against Bayern Munich after an excellent cup run but the team often flattered to deceive and will be disappointed with their league form which really let them down. Bruno Labbadia’s side went into the season with a Europa Cup spot but they struggled through their group, only securing qualification on the final day and by the narrowest of margins. Despite some very inconsistent form in the league they still found themselves in a competitive position in the Bundesliga but after Christmas they dropped off massively being knocked out of the Europa League by Lazio and losing pace in the league, only their cup run continued unabated with a win over VFL Bochum setting up a semi final against Freiburg. By the time the semi final match came around they sat a long way off the European places but with Bayern Munich already in the final and qualified for Europe a win would save their season as they would then also automatically get a place in the Europa League, win or lose. The team put in an impressive performance to set up a match with Bayern and though they narrowly lost it was still a fantastic achievement for them. They will try and strengthen again in the summer, Alexandru Maxim was an excellent winter purchase and added extra fire power up front to decrease the reliance on Vedad Ibisevic who had an excellent season. They must find consistency though if they are to mix it with the best teams in the league.
