After three seasons of flirting with relegation, VfB Stuttgart finally finished in the bottom two and they will play in the second division for the first time since 1977. For two seasons Huub Stevens had returned to the club to keep them in the league, and for two seasons Stuttgart had failed to replace him with a long term alternative. At the start of this season it was former Leipzig coach Alexander Zorniger who was charged with building a stable squad but things did not start well for him. After some decent purchases in the summer, Zorniger’s squad was full of experienced players at this level but it took them until round 6 to take their first win. That came against the only side to finish below them in the table and was certainly not the start of a revival. Zorniger would only make it until round 13 when a 0 – 4 defeat at Augsburg forced the board’s hand. His replacement was the unknown Jürgen Kramny and initially the new man oversaw an immediate improvement. Five points before the winter break got Stuttgart into 15th and after Christmas it got even better. Spurred on by the signing of a few solid players, the club went on a run of four wins and a draw before the end of February which pushed them up to 10th. A 5 – 1 win over struggling Hoffenheim in round 25 seemed to suggest that Stuttgart would be safe, but that was their last win of the season. Their football after that day was poor and constant injuries and suspensions to important players caused havoc with Kramny’s starting teams. Once the rot set in and the defeats started to come, the coach had no idea how to change things and they ended up losing their last six matches. After conceding a total of 12 goals in the final three, Stuttgart also ended up with the worst defensive record in the league, conceding over two a game. This reflects some of the decisions made by Zorniger such as to use winger Adam Hlousek as a centre back but also the fact that Stuttgart failed to properly replace Antonio Rüdiger once he left in the summer. After going down on the final day of the season Kramny was sacked and has already been replaced by former Hertha coach Jos Luhakay who has experience of getting sides out of the second division. A number of high profile players have said they will stay loyal to the club such as captain Christian Gentner and World Cup winner Kevin Großkreutz. This suggests a bounce back into the top division may well be achievable. This year though the players will wonder what could have been. Injuries at the wrong time and a lack of leadership in the closing stages of the season were major factors that cost them their place in the top league. A few players can be happy with their performances this year. Georg Niedermeier continued to work hard even though he lost his place to Hlousek earlier in the season and was an ever present in the closing stages. Daniel Didavi was also very effective in attack but is on his way to Wolfsburg. However, Gentner was the best player in the squad once more and led from the front which is what he will need to do if Stuttgart is to get back into the Bundesliga at the first attempt.
