VfB Stuttgart 07/08 Thread [R]

[Vfbstuttgartfan]

i'll give them on Monday when Kicker gives their scores as well.

But since i guess you wanna know about the Mexicans: Osorio played a very good game throughout, defensively and in offense, so i'd give him a 2.5. Pardo was solid, i'd give him a 3.5.

[squidward123]

why didn't mario gomez start?

[frasermc]

why didn't mario gomez start?

hopefully they're saving him for ibrox on wednesday. :)

it goes without saying but all the best to stuttgart and any fans travelling will be sure to have a warm welcome in glasgow. :)

[benztown]

I haven't been posting here for some time because I was too depressed when I was thinking about Stuttgart and the recent results. But now our young team could finally achieve a convincing victory and hopefully boost confidence. Just in time for the start of the Champions League.

This will be a tough game at Ibrox and our defense will have bigger challenges. But our offense finally seems to hit the target. Especially Khedira had a great game. I wonder if Hitzlsperger will be fit to play (probably) and if so, what will happen to Khedira. He definitely deserves a starting spot, but so do the others in midfield.

With Bastürk also fit, I could see Khedira moving to the right side and Hilbert to right fullback. This however wouldn't be ideal either as Hilbert just isn't born to be a defender.

Well, we'll see. But no matter how Stuttgart will start, I'm sure the team has a fair chance if our players fight (and I mean fight).

why didn't mario gomez start?

He had the flu and wasn't entirely fit to play just yet.

[Vfbstuttgartfan]

why didn't mario gomez start?

As Benztown said, he had a fever last week, which is why he wasn't in the German NT, and he wasn't fit to play 90 minutes, but i hope that will change by next week.

[Vfbstuttgartfan]

hopefully they're saving him for ibrox on wednesday.

it goes without saying but all the best to stuttgart and any fans travelling will be sure to have a warm welcome in glasgow.

I remember when we played Celtic in the Uefa Cup about 5-6 years ago and then when we played Rangers last time we were in the Champions League... both sets of fans were absolutely great. Really friendly, funny, welcoming and great to party with :D - so being back in Glasgow should be great.

I was originally hoping to go to Glasgow for the game but since i'm moving out in 6 days i unfortunately had other stuff that i have to care of.

Too bad. Either way i hope my side can atleast got here and bring back the 3 points :)

[frasermc]

I remember when we played Celtic in the Uefa Cup about 5-6 years ago and then when we played Rangers last time we were in the Champions League... both sets of fans were absolutely great. Really friendly, funny, welcoming and great to party with :D - so being back in Glasgow should be great.

I was originally hoping to go to Glasgow for the game but since i'm moving out in 6 days i unfortunately had other stuff that i have to care of.

Too bad. Either way i hope my side can atleast got here and bring back the 3 points :)

it should be an interesting match up. rangers tried to rest players yesterday for the game on wednesday and it backfired as they were beaten 4-2 away to hearts. barry ferguson was brought on at HT when they were losing 2-0 but to no avail.

a strange decision really. seeing as their oldest player, david weir, played both scotland's internationals and yet started yesterday's game.

other than that slip up rangers have started well but there are weaknesses to be exploited, as there is with every team (including our own respective teams).

alan hutton is a good attacking full back but flies into tackles that he's got no right to attempt. david weir is positionally sound but lacks greatly in pace. in scotland, rangers fans think that carlos cuellar is the 2nd coming of franco baresi but he can be too clever for his own good at the back on occasion.

they're a much stronger team physically than the last few seasons and in barry ferguson have a great CM that can dictate a match if given time and space. kris boyd is back on the goal trail again and is always dangerous in the box.

sasa papic is a CB playing LB and the best bet to get at rangers is down their flanks. hutton is a good full back but can be wound up and gotten at.

whatever the score, i'm sure your travelling support will enjoy the match. remember to bring your umbrella's :D. it's chucking it down in glasgow at the minute.

some things never change....

[Vfbstuttgartfan]

Especially Khedira had a great game. I wonder if Hitzlsperger will be fit to play (probably) and if so, what will happen to Khedira. He definitely deserves a starting spot, but so do the others in midfield.

With Bastürk also fit, I could see Khedira moving to the right side and Hilbert to right fullback. This however wouldn't be ideal either as Hilbert just isn't born to be a defender.

I was thinking this over too. If all our players our fit, we have 5 top midfielders(Hilbert, Hitzlsperger, Pardo, Khedira, Basturk) for a 4 man midfield. One of these players would be on the bench. Not to mention that if yesterday is anything to go by then da Silva may be returning to form as well. And moving Hilbert to rightback wouldn't work either because not only is he not a proper defender, but that would also leave Osorio out, who has been palying very well so far this season.

So a dilemma for Veh then, but i guess it's good our side's like this because there's almost always going to be someone who's injured and so the fact that we have 5-6 "starter" players in our midfield is great in the sense that it gives us lots of depth.

Though we have the same situation in defense and in attack, where we have more "starters" than there are starting spots.

[footyfan1]

We needed a match with Cottbus to get us going too! LOL!! :D

Best of luck this week guys!!!

[kaiser kraut]

So do we think Basturk starts in Scotland for his team debut? That seems a bit risky. Well, I really hope our good result this weekend helps the team raise their game this week.

[Vfbstuttgartfan]

I hope Basturk doesn't start in Glasgow or in Bremen. In such big games, it's not worth starting someone who is so untested at this point. SO i would agree with you: even if he is fit, there should be no Basturk on Wednesday.

[nanni]

I was thinking this over too. If all our players our fit, we have 5 top midfielders(Hilbert, Hitzlsperger, Pardo, Khedira, Basturk) for a 4 man midfield. One of these players would be on the bench. Not to mention that if yesterday is anything to go by then da Silva may be returning to form as well. And moving Hilbert to rightback wouldn't work either because not only is he not a proper defender, but that would also leave Osorio out, who has been palying very well so far this season.

So a dilemma for Veh then, but i guess it's good our side's like this because there's almost always going to be someone who's injured and so the fact that we have 5-6 "starter" players in our midfield is great in the sense that it gives us lots of depth.

Though we have the same situation in defense and in attack, where we have more "starters" than there are starting spots.


dosnt that just make you smile?!:D

[Vfbstuttgartfan]

My Ratings for the Cottbus game:

Raphael Schaefer: Didn't have to do very much for most of the game as the Cottbus attack was completely weak, but still made a very good save out of the only dangerous chance the Cottbus players. My Rating: 3
Kicker Rating: 2.5(Avg. 2.70)

Ludovic Magnin: Defended solidly, didn't do too much going forward, but ultimately, he also didn't have to. My Rating: 3.5
Kicker Rating: 4(Avg. 3.75)

Fernando Meira: Was close to his best for one of the first times this season. Defended flawlessly throughout the game, he even played a role in igniting some counter-attacks. And congratulations to Fernando for his 150th BL game for VfB :) . My Rating: 2.5
Kicker Rating: 3(Avg. 3.60)

Serdar Tasci: Showed his consistency through another good game in defense, again winning most of his one-on-one's and playing throughout the game without any major errors. A good performance. My Rating: 3
Kicker Rating: 3(Avg. 3.50)

Ricardo Osorio: I felt he played a very good game. Was superb defensively, and also played a role in some situations when going forward. Ricardo is on strong form at the moment imo. My Rating: 2.5
Kicker Rating: 3.5(Avg. 3.17)

Pavel Pardo: Played a fair game, distributed the ball well and won most of his one-on-one's, though didn't do more than he had to. Ultimately, it was still enough. My Rating: 3.5
Kicker Rating: 2(???????????) (Avg. 2.80)

Roberto Hilbert: Was the most active of all our field players. Won more balls and lost more balls than any other player and was involved in more bad actions and good actions than any other player. Overall he was certainly dangerous on the rightwing and created troubles for the opposition on more than one occasion, even though it wasn't his best game. My Rating: 3
Kicker Rating: 3.5(Avg. 3.10)

Sami Khedira: Like Roberto, was involved in numerous good plays and numerous bad plays. He was certainly good overall and he assisted the most important goal of the game: the one that gave us the lead, with a very nice cross. My Rating: 3
Kicker Rating: 3(Avg. 3.00)

Toni da Silva: Played quite a good game in my opinion, creating many chances through his good passes. I often feel he doesn't play quite up to his full potential, but yesterday i was fully satisfied. My Rating: 3
Kicker Rating: 3(Avg. 3.83)

Cacau: Made a good comeback from injury by scoring the most important of our three goals yesterday: the one that turned things in our favour and broke the ice. And he did so with a vey nice header. So the fact that he did little besides that and lost many balls doesn't really matter much. My Rating: 2.5
Kicker Rating: 2.5(Avg. 3.25)

Ciprian Marica: I feel a bit sorry for him at the momet. Yesterday he played a good game overall and fought for many balls and even brought his teammates into many dangerous situations, but he didn't get any big chances himself and he is now the only striker we have without a goal this season, and is probably Striker number 4 in the pecking order as of now. but he was still fair on Saturday. My Rating: 3.5
Kicker Rating: 4(Avg. 4.10)

SUBS:

Mario Gomez: Came in, didn't do too much, missed a big chance, then scored with a very nice header for the 3-0. Typical Mario :) . My Rating: 2.5
Kicker Rating: NONE

Ewerthon: Substituted in for the last 20 minutes, scored his first goal for VfB, then provided an assist for the 3-0. Can't do much more in 20 minutes. I'm happy for him to have gotten off the mark, and i hope he scores many more in Red-White. Congratulations, Ewerthon :) . MY Rating: 2
Kicker Rating: NONE

Silvio Meissner: Didn't play long enough to get rated, but i must say i still don't know why he keeps making late appearances in games.
Kicker Rating: NONE

[Vfbstuttgartfan]

dosnt that just make you smile?!:D

Yup :D

[cdmphy]

I just wrote up the Stuttgart-Cottbus match on my blog if you are interested. It's fairly glowing praise of the champs:

http://bundesliga-talk.blogspot.com/2007/09/suttgarts-swagger-returns.html

Please post there if you feel anything is awry with the column as I am always in need of learning more.

[nanni]

http://www.vfb-stuttgart.de/en/aktuell/news/2007/13106.php

sorry if im late with this news but since its from Today i thought
id post it!!


http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b306/gigu4365/5091_gr.jpg

[kaiser kraut]

I guess that answers the Basturk debate. I would have preferred to bring him in as a sub in the second half of both games rather than starting him. Guess it's not seen as an option now.

[Forza Bayern]

However, the Bayern match is not up there yet since it'll be in the Rueckrunde. I expect they'll start selling tickets for it in early January.

Stuttgart - Bayern is on 10th November!

[Vfbstuttgartfan]

I just wrote up the Stuttgart-Cottbus match on my blog if you are interested. It's fairly glowing praise of the champs:

http://bundesliga-talk.blogspot.com/2007/09/suttgarts-swagger-returns.html

Please post there if you feel anything is awry with the column as I am always in need of learning more.

Nice article!

The only issues are that Cottbus's coach is called Petrik Sander, not Petrik Senderos :D - and this time last year we had the same points as we do now, not two more.

Still, it was a good read!

[Vfbstuttgartfan]

Stuttgart - Bayern is on 10th November!

True, my bad :)