VfB visit Leipzig tomorrow for a clash with Red Bull. This is most likely loss number 4 in a row given the poor form and injury list as of late. Stuttgart: Kobel - Mavropanos, Anton, Kempf - Coulibaly, Endo, Castro (c), Thommy - Förster, Klimowicz - Kalajdzic It pains me to see Klimowicz as a starter. The kid needs a season in 2.B to get some experience at a lower level of play. His decision-making and passing is horrendous. Surprise, surprise! FC Mainz has been the hottest 1.B club of late, winning 4 and drawing 1 before today when they beat Bayern Munich 2-1.
Starting lineup: Kalajdzic Castro, Forster Coulibaly, Ahamada, Endo, Massimo Kempf, Anton, Mavropanos Kobel
14' Ahamada sent off with red for reckless challenge. Ref originally gave a yellow, but VAR called him over to look-see and he quickly changed it to red. VfB now down to 10 men.
0-0 at the half. Defend defend defend. Other than a Kalajdzic header wide, VfB had no shots on goal. Going to switch over and watch Feyenoord match, which starts soon.
Week 31: 10-9-12 39 points Fourth loss in a row, 2-0 to Red Bull in Leipzig. That sinking feeling. Goals - Assists Kalajdzic 14 - 4 Wamangituka 11 - 5 Sosa 0 - 9 Gonzalez 6 - 2 Didavi 4 - 3 Castro 4 - 2 Endo 2 - 4 Kempf 2 - 1 Coulibaly 2 - 1 Mangala 1 - 2 Klement 1 - 2 Forster 2 - 0 Klimowicz 1 - 1 Thommy 0 - 2 Anton 0 - 1 Opponent own goal 2 Goals scored: 52 Goals conceded: 51 Clean sheets: 5
That red card definitely hurt. It's a good thing they managed to earn enough points to stay up, before now. If they were flirting with relegation now, I don't think they would stay up, at this point.
Yeah, they got enough points before the injuries, thankfully. It goes to show how the replacements are not up to 1.B level yet. Klimowicz, Ahamada, Massimo, Coulibaly, Stenzel, and Karazor are still young, I suppose, but VfB need maybe better backups for Wamangituka and Sosa. And Gonzalez, last season's leading scorer, hasn't really contributed much given his injuries. Will be interesting to see if German marks are available in the offseason to shore up the defense, the midfield backup, and the 2 attacking midfield positions. My understanding is that they are not going to renew Castro's contract, and Forster-Coulibaly-Klimowicz are not yet good enough.
Yes, it's 4 in a row, but including matches with Dortmund and Leipzig. Losing Wamangituka had an immediate impact as well. But anyway, they are completely safe, which cannot be said of Schalke, who finally sunk out of the Liga after 30 years. That's a club that has consistently beat us in revenue and marketing. It's a time to be grateful that we're not completely wasting payroll and seem to be happy with a coach after a full season. If he makes it 2 seasons, that will be a remarkable departure from our recent disfunction. I'd love to see it.
Now there's some talk of BVB wanting to sign Kobel for GK, replacing Burki. I'd like to see Kobel stay for at least another year, but if he can bring a boatload of money so we can sign other really good players to shore up weaknesses in the lineup, I'm confident that Sven can find another good GK on the cheap.
VfB host Augsburg in Stuttgart tomorrow for the Friday match of the week. Probable lineup: Stuttgart: Kobel - Mavropanos, Anton, Kempf - Coulibaly, Endo, Karazor, Sosa - Förster, Castro (c) - Kalajdzic If Sosa truly does return to the lineup, there is hope that VfB can score a goal or two, especially from Sosa crosses.
Actual starting lineup: Kalajdzic Didavi, Forster Sosa, Endo, Klement, Massimo Kempf, Anton, Mavropanos Bredlow Kobel out with a back injury. Klement gets his first 1.B start.
11' Chipped pass in from Massimo is touched on by Kalajdzic, setting up Forster for an easy shot into goal, 1-0.
20' Massimo down with a hamstring injury ... too bad. He was looking better on the right wing each match. Coulibaly in for him.
Head injury earlier in first half, but he continued playing. Probably want to error on the side of safety.
Even though the possession has been in VfB's favor, Augsburg have really been peppering the VfB goal. Hopefully Stuttgart have more than one goal in them, and can retake the lead.
VfB's inexperience shows. They were leading 1-0 at home, but they pushed too many players forward to get the second goal, and then potentially end up giving up 2 points by not stopping the breakaway. Coulibaly off with an injury. Thommy on to replace him. Didavi off, Churlinov on.