Vfb Stuttgart's campaign last year was saved by a cup run which saw them reach the final of the cup and gave them entry into the Europa League qualifiers this season. That competition was hoped to be the springboard for success this year and qualification to the group stage was expected to be a formality. But things did not go smoothly to begin with and they were fortunate to get through to the playoff stage with an away goals win over Botev Plovdiv of Bulgaria. In the playoff they met HNK Rijeka which looked on paper to be an easy fixture but they played awfully over the two legs and were knocked out. Their league form echoed their form in the Europa League and after just three rounds of the season Bruno Labaddia was sacked with youth team coach Thomas Schneider stepping up to the top job. An immediate change of fortunes followed with a seven matches unbeaten run which moved them into eighth place after round ten. After that their form wavered and they began to steadily drop down the table with their post-Christmas form especially poor. From round 16 to 23 they failed to collect a single point and, with no win in ten matches, the decision was taken to remove Schneider after a home draw to Braunschweig. By this point the club were hovering above the relegation zone and Huub Stevens was brought in to steady the ship but, after successive defeats to Nürnberg and Dortmund in round 27 and 28, they were in the bottom three. Yet this proved to be a turning point for them and would go on to take eight points from their next four matches, which save them move away from the bottom three and to eventual safety after round 33. But the fans were not satisfied and made their thoughts clear to the board with protests against sporting director Freddi Bobic who was accused of mismanagement. Certainly the summer signings made little impact on the squad with only Daniel Schwaab able to hold down a regular place in the team and it was left to the existing squad to carry the team. A number of players came to the fore over the season with goalkeeper Sven Ullreich an ever-present and Martin Harnik in midfield both critical to their survival in the league. Vedad Ibisevic was deadly when the club were playing well but he fell out of favour after a five match ban for lashing out at an opponent and he faded out of the starting team after that. Their player of the season has to be captain Christian Gentner, who led from the front despite having to miss a few games through injury, he stood up when his side needed him and pushed his fellow players on. Huub Stevens also deserves credit for steadying a sinking ship but his contract expires at the end of June and he will not be at the helm next season. Finding a new man to lead the club will be central to any success they hope to achieve next year but they will also need to be more clever in the transfer market.
