Stuttgart

Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e.V., popularly known as VfB Stuttgart, was founded in 1893. It is a top-notch German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden -Wurttemberg. VfB has 40,000 members and is the largest sports club in the state and the fifth largest in Germany . The club is most popular for its football team, which has participated in all the Bundesliga seasons, except two. It has won the national championship 5 times besides winning the Bundesliga season in 2006-2007. Nicknamed as Die Roten, Die Schwaben, and Die jungen Wilden, VfB has its home ground at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, which has a capacity to seat 55,896 spectators.   The club presently has Senator H.c. Erwin Staudt as the Chairman and Ulrich Ruf as the Director. Some of the prominent players of the 2007-2008 teams include Raphael Schäfer, Michael Langer, Arthur Boka, Matthieu Delpierre, Fernando Meira, Pavel Pardo and Antonio da Silva . VfB Stuttgart acquired its current name on 2 April, 1912 when the former Stuttgart FV. 93 merged with another club called the Kronen-Club Cannstatt. At the time of the merger, the two clubs consisted of school pupils who had picked up new types of sports like rugby and football from English pioneers. Following the amalgamation, the merged team first played in the Bezirksliga Württemberg/Baden, earning several of top three finishes and grabbing a title in 1927. The club also appeared a number of times in the final rounds of the SFV in late 20s and early 30s.   Like all other German football teams, VfB Stuttgart was positioned in a divisional-placement system during the German football reorganisation under the Third Reich in 1933. The division in which the club was placed was called Gauligen. Under this system, the club registered victories within its own division, gaining division titles in 1935, 1937, 1938, 1940 and 1943. Although the club was never able to win a national title for a long time, its Gauliga titles facilitated its entry in to the national playoff rounds, where it eventually won the runner up trophy in 1935. This was before the Second World War began. The 1950s was a successful period for the club. Playing first division football in the Oberliga Sud, the club won titles in 1946, 1952, and 1954. It also competed in the German championship rounds, appearing as national champion in 1950 and 1952, and finishing as runner-up in 1953. Furthermore, the club also won the German Cup twice – first in 1954 and next in 1958. The star player during this era was Robert Schlienz, who despite having one arm was in charge for the triumph of the team. The huge success of the 1950s led to a dark tunnel in the 1960s because of the introduction of the single professional league by DFB. Due to austerity and reluctance to expend money, the team only found moderate success. Even until mid-1970s, the club only churned out average results.     In 1973, the club qualified for the UEFA Cup and advanced to the semi-finals of the 1974 tournament. In spite of missing sponsorships, loss of money on efforts to gain professionalism, and the danger of being relegated to Second Bundesliga, the club pulled itself out of the crisis by gaining the 11th rank in the second league of the 1974-1975 seasons. The club also fought its way through 1976-1977 to attain the 4th rank at the end of the 1977-1978 seasons. In 1980, the club made a second appearance at the UEFA Cup semi-finals besides winning its first Bundesliga title. In 1984, the club also won its third national title under the coach Helmut Benthaus. Also, the VfB team was the defending champion in the 1986 German Cup and the 1989 UEFA Cup.     Fredi Bobic (VfB Stuttgart)   Created on: 5/22/2008   By: AlonaS   Tags: VfB Stuttgart,   Fredi Bobic (VfB Stuttgart)     The 1990s was a period of ups and downs. In 1992, the club achieved its fourth national title. However, on the international turf the club did not see much success until 1997. Nonetheless, in 1997 the club won its third German Cup under the coach Joachim Low. Following this, the club became the defending champion in the 1998 European Cup but lost two of its chief players, Giovane Elber and Fredi Bobic. The club also lost its coach Joachim Low, who was replaced by Winfried Schafer. With these changes, the club failed to perform well in the next 2 seasons.     VfB Stuttgart Deutscher Meister 2006/2007   Created on: 5/22/2008   By: AlonaS   Tags: VfB Stuttgart,   VfB Stuttgart Deutscher Meister 2006/2007     In the year 2000, the management of the club witnessed changes due to high debts and lack of results. Manfred Haas, the new President, worked on renegotiating contracts with the players in addition to rebuilding the team with fresh talents. At the outset, the restructuring efforts only resulted in the club escaping from relegation in 2001. In the 2002-2003 seasons, the club bounced back as Bundesliga vice-champion with players like Andreas Hinkel, Kevin Kurányi, Timo Hildebrand, and Alexander. Lately, VfB Stuttgart has grown to become one of the top teams in Germany. The 2005-2006 seasons were a little disappointing. However, the club has overcome the losses and criticism to make its mark in the 2006-2007 Bundesliga Championship and the 2007-2008 UEFA Champions League. Honors: International Competition 1Cup Winners' Cup finalists - 1998 1 UEFA Cup finalists - 1989 2 UEFA Intertoto Cup winners - 2000, 2002 National Competition: 5 German champions - 1950, 1952, 1984, 1992, 2007 4 German runners-up - 1935, 1953, 1979, 2003 3 German Cup winners - 1954, 1958, 1997 2 German Cup finalists - 1986, 2007 1 German Supercup winners - 1992 1 League Cup finalists – 2005 Regional Competition: 3 Oberliga Süd (I) champions - 1946, 1952, 1954 1 2nd Bundesliga Süd (II) champions - 1977 2 Württemberg/Baden champions - 1927, 1930 4 Gauliga Württemberg champions - 1935, 1937, 1938, 1941