Carambau

FEARLESS AND FAITHFUL Rollercoaster Ride The home defeat against Leverkusen hurts badly. VfL Wolfsburg vs VfB Stuttgart A good result against strong title contenders away from home. VfB Stuttgart vs FSV Mainz 05 Dominant win. They did not have one shot on target. We will play 3rd division team Zwickau in the quarter finals. VfB Stuttgart vs Bayer Leverkusen A game we should have never lost. But we did somehow. Borussia Dortmund vs VfB Stuttgart The game was over after 25 minutes already. I wonder why they are so far behind us in the table. VfB Stuttgart vs Greuther Furth I indeed played some of our bench players in this game and it worked nicely. THE BUNDESLIGA TABLE Bayern run away but its so tight behind them. THE YOUTH TEAMS VfB Stuttgart II VfB Stuttgart U19 EUROPA LEAGUE DRAW So it´s Glasgow Rangers in the next round.

FEARLESS AND FAITHFUL Life without Borna TRANSFERS Bayern being Bayern, they snap up Borna Sosa, one of our key players. And I am the idiot because I did not know about his release clause. We had to get a replacement quickly and we got one in Argentinian Julian Aude from Lanus. We pay 13M for him. He is not as good at crossing as Sosa, but his other attributes are very convincing for a left back. He goes right into the first team. Frankfurt are strong. VfB Stuttgart vs SC Paderborn This was a lot of work. After one hour we finally broke the duck and Genki sealed it off with a counter attack in stoppage time. Eintracht Frankfurt vs VfB Stuttgart Frankfurt got their very own wonderkid in Marcel Wenig. He ran the show and won the game for his team. VfB Stuttgart vs RB Leipzig It is always so satisfying to win against the plastics. And we truly dominated them this time. THE BUNDESLIGA TABLE It is soo tight up there. Look at the first six teams! THE YOUTH TEAMS VfB Stuttgart II VfB Stuttgart U19

Yeah its against those teams that we crumble. Maybe I should play the benchers in those games as they maybe are more motivated ...

This is the future of football. I predict In 10 years we will be having these leagues by default in the game.

If it was a F1 manager game, I would agree. But for football, no.

Sounds like an interesting choice! Good luck

I´d say it is too early days for that , we still mostly get shown our limits when we play the big boys, so I dont think we are capable of that yet... only with lots of luck I guess

FEARLESS AND FAITHFUL Almost perfect We drop points against the alleged "weaker" teams. VfB Stuttgart vs Hertha BSC Berlin Luck was on our side when Super Sub Ito scored the winner in the last minute. 1.FC Koln vs VfB Stuttgart A crazy game with lots of chances for Koln to win it but in the end we prevailed. Efficiency wins. KAA Gent vs VfB Stuttgart Again, we were the more clinical team. Talent Ulrich scored his first brace for us. VfB Stuttgart vs Schalke 04 Looks easier than it was. The two goals at the end were counter attacks. 1.FC Nurnberg vs VfB Stuttgart We manage to lose against the newcomers! I have no explanation for that. Maybe arrogance. VfB Stuttgart vs FSV Mainz 05 We have to thank Milosevic for that draw. Again, a weak result against a so-called "minnow". This is concerning. THE BUNDESLIGA TABLE Still, we sit in 2nd place. THE EUROPA LEAGUE TABLE For the record: We topped our group. THE YOUTH TEAMS VfB Stuttgart II VfB Stuttgart U19 CLUB NEWS Look at our U18 academy products! Among the best in the world!

Thanks I wonder who we will play in the knock out rounds in the Europe League...

FEARLESS AND FAITHFUL Wins, wins & one draw A nearly perfect month. Schalke 04 vs VfB Stuttgart We only just avoided a penalty shootout! In the end we win and Milosevic showed what he is capable of. VfB Stuttgart vs SC Freiburg We controlled most of the game, we just left it late to decide the game against our rivals. VfB Stuttgart vs Olympique Lyon WTF? No one expected this result! A nearly perfect game from us. VfB Stuttgart vs Borussia Monchengladbach They were the better team, but we take the point. Werder Bremen vs VfB Stuttgart Botheim is on fire at the moment and Bremen had to suffer. VfB Stuttgart vs LASK Linz A relaxed game as we beat harmless Austrians. THE BUNDESLIGA TABLE We are contender number one. THE EUROPA LEAGUE TABLE Qualification was secured with one game in hand. THE YOUTH TEAMS VfB Stuttgart II VfB Stuttgart U19 NEWS A look at the elite in 2023.

Indeed Its gonna be an interesting season surely.

FEARLESS AND FAITHFUL GOOD START, BAD ENDING Nice wins but then we collapsed. VfB Stuttgart vs Borussia Dortmund What a nice game for our fans. Everything came together and we were able to defeat the big boys! LASK Linz vs VfB Stuttgart The Austrians did not pose a big thread and we made short work of them. Greuther Furth vs VfB Stuttgart We were very lucky to win this game. The newly promoted team gave us a run for our money but in the end they were to green behind the ears. VfB Stuttgart vs Bayern Munich Nothing new here. They are just way too strong. Olympique Lyon vs VfB Stuttgart It was an even game until we got the red card. Shortly after they scored for the 3rd time and the game was over. TSG Hoffenheim vs VfB Stuttgart IT would have been nice to get away with a win against our rivals, but Kramaric scored in stoppage time. Talent Laurin Ulrich scored the 2nd time in a row. THE BUNDESLIGA TABLE We are in 3rd place but look at how close that table is. THE EUROPA LEAGUE TABLE This is going to be a tight affair. THE YOUTH TEAMS VfB Stuttgart II VfB Stuttgart U19 THE CLUB NEWS Congratulations, Erik!

It was, better than I expected Thank you Nice to have you on board!

FEARLESS AND FAITHFUL THE FIRST GAME IN EUROPE Some mediocre results, but we won in europe. RB Leipzig vs VfB Stuttgart We were very good at countering and therefore won this game. VfB Stuttgart vs VfL Wolfsburg This was more like a fight as you can see in the amount of yellow cards. A just result in the end. VfB Stuttgart vs KAA Gent Back in Europe since quite some years and we make it a win in the first game. An early goal by Botheim was enough to beat the belgians. Bayer Leverkusen vs VfB Stuttgart Here comes our first defeat of the season! A little bit of revenge for Leverkusen for the DFB Pokal final. THE BUNDESLIGA TABLE We slip down to 4th place. THE YOUTH TEAMS VfB Stuttgart II VfB Stuttgart U19

FEARLESS AND FAITHFUL THE NEW SEASON KICKS OFF Flawless. Just flawless. Preussen Munster vs VfB Stuttgart The 4th tier side had no chance. We will play Schalke away in the next round. That´s gonna be way harder. SC Paderborn vs VfB Stuttgart Botheim on the double again! He already looks a decent signing. Poor promoted Paderborn. VfB Stuttgart vs Eintracht Frankfurt We destroy last seasons´ Bundesliga runner-up in a cracking game. This comes close to the football I want to see from the lads. THE BUNDESLIGA TABLE A wonderful, flawless start into the new season. THE EUROPA LEAGUE DRAW We are quite happy with this group. It could have been worse. THE YOUTH TEAMS VfB Stuttgart II VfB Stuttgart U19

FEARLESS AND FAITHFUL THE GERMAN SUPERCUP FC Bayern Munich vs VfB Stuttgart Well, this was a reality check. We still have a lot to learn and have to be humble to improve to maybe one day be as good as them. But it is a long long way.

Thank you Yeah it was very unexpected but we take it nevertheless. Absolutely He is getting better and better! I hope he continues to improve!

FEARLESS AND FAITHFUL THE TRANSFERS As mentioned in the previous post, we got rid of Pfeiffer, Dias and Stenzel. Millot went out on loan again. Vagnoman was feeling undervalued and so we also sent him away for the season. It wasn´t intended to let Fuhrich go, but he had a release clause in his contract which I noticed to late so he was off to Frankfurt. U19 player Faghir wanted to leave to so he went. You may ask "Where is the young super striker Matija Popovic who scored 13 goals in 14 games last season"? Well, here is the answer. Then you may ask "Where is the young super striker Tiago Tomas who scored 22 goals last season?" Well, here is the answer. After all these disappointments we had to make up our minds and go for different solutions. We needed strikers, so Alberth Elis, Erik Botheim and Jovan Milosevic came in. The most expensive transfer was midfield schemer Carles Alena, who should fit in well alongside Wataru Endo in central midfield. More quality was added to our central defense with towering defender Patric Pfeiffer. The Right Back position was up for grabs and we signed 2 players for that position: Erik Holm and Jordan Lotomba. There will be much rotation in that position. Asier Illaramendi is a well know name in world football, especially in the basque country. We needed more options in central midfield and that´s why he came in. He brings lots of experience as well which can´t be a bad thing. More options in midfield was also the reason Ukrainian international Victor Kovalenko and Patrick Sontheimer were signed. They should be useful backups. Jayson Leutwiler was signed for VfB Stuttgart II which are now playing in the 3. Liga and were missing an experienced backup goalkeeper. This looks like a world record transfer. THE TEAM ANALYSIS Goalkeepers Muller is the number one. But Seimen has already shown his talent last season and it was very convincing. Schock will most probably never play but who knows the future? Defenders Pfeiffer should go right into the first team. But he will have to fight off Mavropanos, Anton and Zagadou every week to stay in there. Holm and Lotomba will rotate on the Right Back position. On the left we have Sosa. And Ito. Midfielders Alena will partner Endo in central midfield. Genki and Silas should be the first names on the wings. Ulrich is the talented youngster who will get his minutes, same as Coulibaly. Illaramendi brings experience, Sontheimer and Kovalenko provide backup. And we also have Karazor there. Attackers All new in attack this season. Elis and Botheim should be playing with Milosevic being the super sub. THE PRE-SEASON FRIENDLIES We score a lot but we STILL concede a lot, too. This is worrying.

FEARLESS AND FAITHFUL Season Summery Uber-Talent Dennis Seimen got his first games in the DFB Pokal, he would have even played in the final if he hadn´t been injured. And he did very well in the games he played in. Florian Muller still is our number one of course but his successor is already here. Our defense seemed ok on first glance but we conceded 61 (!) goals in the Bundesliga. This has to do with our very offensive tactics and we are good at scoring more than our opponents mostly but we have to work on this for sure. Our left back Borna Sosa was being so offensive, he registered 13 assists this season, joint best together with Genki Haraguchi. Captain Fantastic Wataru Endo had a nice season, he led by example. Alongside him Chris Fuhrich and Atakan Karazor did a good job as water carriers. On the wings it was all Genki´s season, scoring 18 goals and assisting 13. But Silas wasn´t that bad either. In attack, we of course had Tiago Tomas: He scored 22 goals and ended up runner-up in the Bundesliga scoring chart. And the surprise of the season: Matija Popovic who scored 13 goals in only 14 games, including two hattricks! What a gem! We must make sure we make his move permanent now the season is over. Of course there were also some disappointments. Right back Pascal Stenzel does not seem to have to quality to compete on this level, neither does Gil Dias and Juan Perea did not make one start this season. Luca Pfeiffer wasted many clear chances and we can surely get a better striker than him. So these players most probably will have to leave. THE YOUTH TEAMS VfB Stuttgart II got promoted to the 3. Liga this season in a very tight title battle but in the end they showed their great composure and did it. Laurin Ulrich was the best player and will get promoted to our first team to show his abilities. Lilian Egloff has been out on loan at 2. Bundesliga outfit 1.FC Kaiserslautern and managed to play 15 games and score 3. Maybe he will also get a chance to prove himself. The new season will be hard in the higher league and I am expecting a tough relegation battle. VfB Stuttgart U19 easily won their Regional U19 Bundesliga group and qualified for the U19 Bundesliga playoffs. They managed to beat 1.FC Koln U19s over two legs (8-4 on agg) in the semi final and reached the final where they lost 5-7 to TSG Hoffenheim U19s after penalties. They also lost against TSG Hoffenheim U19s in the DFB Pokal der Junioren, again 5-7 after penalties. Seems like a bogey team to them. Hopefully they can get their revenge next season. THE EUROPEAN CUP WINNERS Champions League Liverpool do it again! The win was lucky, coming in the dying minutes but it was clearly deserved. Europa League A surprise title win by Bayer Leverkusen. They surely themselves don´t know how they were able to win this game but they won´t care. UEFA Conference League A nice win by Nice. You can´t win anything with Young Boys.

FEARLESS AND FAITHFUL The DFB Pokal Final against Bayer Leverkusen

Thank you Bayern luckily went out in an early round already against Hoffenheim, but we also had some very very lucky draws against lower tier teams to reach the final Yes, Leverkusen won the EL, I will cover that in one of the next updates.

FEARLESS AND FAITHFUL Final Dreams We made it to the DFB Pokal final! The rest of the results don´t impress that much. VfB Stuttgart vs Arminia Bielefeld The lads really wanted it! And so we make short work of Bielefeld to reach the DFB Pokal final against Bayer Leverkusen. Hertha BSC Berlin vs VfB Stuttgart Obviously we celebrated too much after the semi final victory. That´s what you get. VfL Bochum vs VfB Stuttgart Wait...this is our DFB Pokal opponent? Should be an easy game then! ********. This is gonna be a different game and I bet Popovic won´t score a hattrick in the final again. Calm down, fans! We are looking to make the loan deal permanent after the DFB Pokal final. FSV Mainz vs VfB Stuttgart The leagues topscorer kills us off and all we get is a draw against this mediocre team. VfB Stuttgart vs TSG Hoffenheim We lost the last game of the campaign against our rivals. Not the best way to finish a season. THE BUNDESLIGA TABLE & STATISTICS We qualified for the Europa Conference League! Who would have expected that before the season? Not me! And Tiago Tomas is the 2nd best goalscorer. Popovic wins the Best U17 Player Of The Year award. Glasner wins the Manager Of The Year award. THE YOUTH TEAMS VfB Stuttgart II VfB Stuttgart U19

FEARLESS AND FAITHFUL Goals Galore! We scored quite a lot of goals over the last weeks. 1.FC Union Berlin vs VfB Stuttgart This game against the relegation candidates was harder than expected. Luckily Zagadou was able to score with a nice header after a corner. Greuther Furth vs VfB Stuttgart The second division team was fighting hard, but after the red card it was all over for them. Our young striker loanee gets better and better. Talk about luck with the draw! We will play another 2. Bundesliga team in the semi final. VfL Bochum vs VfB Stuttgart Not a good performance against the bottom team. We let our 3-1 lead slip in stoppage time. Borussia Dortmund vs VfB Stuttgart A red card in the second minute of the game. A RED CARD IN THE SECOND MINUTE OF THE GAME!!! FC Augsburg vs VfB Stuttgart Fortunately, we were able to pick ourselves up after the low blows vs Bochum and Dortmund. A nice, deserved win. VfB Stuttgart vs Borussia Monchengladbach Now we´re talking! This comes close to the perfect football I want to see from us. A massive win against our direct rivals for europe. And Popovic scored a hat-trick. THE BUNDESLIGA TABLE Back in the game for Europe. THE YOUTH TEAMS VfB Stuttgart II VfB Stuttgart U19

Thank you This would be the icing on the cake of this season indeed!

Which attribute?