Louis Van Gaal gets new striker Mario Gómez

New Bayern coach Louis Van Gaal started his days off right as Mario Gómez has left VfB for München. With a fee of rumoured to be €30m Bayern apparently met VfB's heavy demands and there was no other choice the club could make

VfB sport director Horst Heldt said of the deal "We managed to hold onto Mario twice. Now he has decided to make a move. That is a real shame! Mario has served VfB fantastically and once again this season had a massive part to play in the success of the team."

VfB heads to Champions League despite loss to Bayern

Fortune smiled on VfB in the final day of the season as despite a 2-1 loss to Bayern München they advance to the qualifying round the Champions League thanks to a KSC's 4-0 upset of the Hertha Berlin.

With the day being played out at top speed, the hosts took that lead sixteen minutes in as Franck Ribéry's cross was turned in as a own-goal by Khalid Boulahrouz. Die Schwaben turned up the heat but each chance came up empty and the match went to the break with Bayern maintaining its one goal lead. Just before the hour Ribéry was the architect of the second goal as he fed Mark van Bommel a perfect through ball which he sent past Jens. VfB quickly launched forward and only four minutes later Mario Gómez gave his side hope with a brilliant one man effort, maneuvering between the statuesque Bayern defenders to score from inside the area. Markus Babbel's side continued to pour forward but the day would end on the wrong side of the score.

It has been a remarkable year or better-said, two seasons. The pre-Babbel era and then under the leadership of the thirty-six year old coach. As VfB is now securely in the Champions League it can plan its road to the height of Football with one of the sports most promising young coaches.

VfB's 2-0 victory over Cottbus leads to exciting finish

With VfB's 2-0 victory over Cottbus at the Neckarstadion on Saturday, the Bundesliga championship race will come down to the final weekend. Trailing first place by two points, Markus Babbel's side look ahead to their match against Bayern München knowing a victory along with Bremen's upset of Wolfsburg will cap a stunning comeback with the Bundesliga title.

Without Mario Gómez and Sami Khedira in the lineup the capacity ground urged VfB on against a gritty tough Cottbus side. Those expecting a slow start to the match were surprised as both sides were advancing early with a series of close chances. However at the nineteenth minute VfB took the lead as Thomas Hitzlsperger's free-kick from the right managed to go untouched before bouncing in off the far post and in. Cottbus continued to fight back and were for the most part created the sole chances after the break. In the final quarter hour Shao Jiayi formerly of CSL's Beijing Guoan came close but his effort rang off the crossbar (Jens willed to) and with twelve minutes left VfB scored a much needed insurance goal. With Cottbus exposed at the back, Markus Babbel's side countered with a long pass to the left flank finding Mario Gómez, who had come on ten minutes early, with the striker crossing back to the centre for Cacau to finish from ten metres.

VfB defeats Schalke 2-1

VfB remained two points behind first-place Wolfsburg with a 2-1 victory over Schalke. As the Bundesliga reaches the final two weeks, the final match showdown against Bayern could be the ultimate decider in the table, particularly if Bremen can come up big against Wolfsburg.

Without the services of Mario Gómez due to injury, Markus Babbel inserted Ciprian Marica into his lineup. VfB stole the lead at the quarter hour as Cacau picked up a loose ball and worked to the right edge of the box before firing a trailing shot into the top near corner. Ivan Rakitić brought the match even with six minutes left in the half as after a surprising free-kick just on the edge of the area was awarded, he drove the ball into the left corner. Schalke was more aggressive after the break but at the fifty-seventh minute a rebound from Thomas Hitzlsperger fell to Ciprian Marica and the Romanian sent the ball in. Schalke came closs to evening the match up but Kevin Kurányi's header off the post was as close as they got and the match ended 2-1 for VfB.

Die Schwaben blow apart Wolfsburg 4-1

The much talked about "showdown" between VfB and Wolfsburg turned into a easy day at the office as Markus Babbel’s team cut down the visitors to size, winning 4-1 with Mario Gómez hitting for all four goals.

In many ways the match started days ago or at least the result was due in-part to the Wolfsburg's coach Felix Magath, apparently forgetting his present club has a chance to win the championship and instead announcing he was scampering off the Schalke next year all the while grabbing as much press as he could for himself. If there was ever a preamble to explain a highly confused side unable to respond to a concentrated team effort, this was it. Against Markus Babbel’s team unity policy and tough as nails approach Wolfsburg's attack was hollow as their managers inability to properly lead.

Stuttgart gave the visitors a hint of the shape of to come less than a minute in a Super Mario headed in Christian Träsch's cross to make in 1-0. Twenty minutes later Cacau got on the end of Thomas Hitzlsperger's through ball before crossing for Gómez's second of the day. Sixteen minutes later Edin Džeko brought Wolfsburg to within one but that was a close as it would get as Gómez made it 3-1 just after the hour as he accepted Sami Khedira's pass before powering the ball in from thirteen metres. Finally with thirteen minutes left Gómez added his fourth heading in Martin Lanig's cross as the "showdown" turned into a 4-1 romp.

Arminia Bielefeld play Stuttgart level

VfB hopes for the Bundesliga championship were possibly felled as relegation candidates Arminia Bielefeld held them to a 2-2 draw at the Schüco-Arena. The result, a near catastrophe, seriously jeopardizes VfB's hopes and stalls out their incredible comeback since Markus Babbel took over. Speaking after the match the VfB leader said:

"It was a very emotional game and the fans really got their money's worth, at times at the expense of the nerves of both trainers. Both teams went looking for the win but we didn't achieve that because we left too many chances untaken. Arminia played very passionately, and with that in mind, we have to be satisfied with the point. Our goal remains to finish in the top five."

Only three minutes into the match Thomas Hitzlsperger's corner was headed against the post by Khalid Boulahrouz but Matthieu Delpierre headed the rebound past Dennis Eilhoff to give VfB the 1-0 lead. At thirty minutes the schwarz-weiß-blauen equalized it as poor defending allowed Oliver Kirch free before crossing to Christopher Katongo for finish. Thomas Hitzlsperger gave VfB the lead five minutes later as he drive took a fortunate deflection over Bielefeld goalkeeper Dennis Eilhoff. The second half was ripe with chances for VfB but finishing was off and twenty-two minutes left the host side brought the match level from the spot. Thomas Hitzlsperger was adjudged to dropping Thorben Marx in the area and with the spot pointed-to, Vlad Munteanu sent the ball. VfB had ample opportunity to score but couldn't and the match ended in a 2-2 draw.

Schwaben win again

VfB won their fifth successive match, continuing their stunning run of play in the Rückrunde, defeating Frankfurt 2-0 at the Neckarstadion on Saturday afternoon. The victory squares VfB with Bayern on points and leaves the 9 May match against Wolfsburg as a possible decider of the championship.

For the visiting Frankfurt side, the year that started with so much promise has been limping to a conclusion. That aside they are a side with quality personnel, that if fully-fit can cause a multitude of problems. Inspired to limit VfB going forward, Frankfurt were resolute in defending and until Martin Lanig's effort at the half hour there were no significant attacking threats. However with twelve minutes remaining in the half Ludovic Magnin cross was flicked on by Cacau, who had slipped under Marco Russ, to the near post giving VfB the 1-0 lead. Die Schwaben doubled the margin three minutes into the new half as Lanig's free-kick from the left landed a Mario Gómez feet with striker sending it in to make it 2-0. Any chance of Frankfurt coming back ended with that goal and the match waned on without further scoring keeping alive Jens Lehmann string of three successive matches without a goal against.

Schwaben win again

Markus Babbel's VfB Stuttgart continued their remarkable turnaround with a 3-0 victory over Köln with all three goals coming from Mario Gómez. The victory brings die Schwaben six points behind first-place Wolfsburg and open up a five point advantage on Schalke 04 for the final Europa League spot.

Despite the win Markus Babbel was not overly pleased with the performance saying:

"I'm very satisfied with the result - but not at all with the first half! We played terribly and got really lucky, Köln had a couple of great chances. The second half was quite alright. We were more solid at the back and took the chances we created. We still want to defend fifth spot - the team have worked very hard to get this far. The win today was very important for us. Our goal is to keep the teams behind us at a distance."

Gómez's first of the day came sixteen minutes in from as he headed-in Roberto Hilbert cross in from the six-yard box. However Köln continued to fight back and after a number of chances were denied but the number 1, Jens Lehmann, Gómez got his second of the day ten minutes after the break when Cacau fed him a perfect set-up for a professionals close out. Sixteen minutes later, VfB was definitely anxious to get Gómez his third of the day and as Thomas Hitzlsperger through ball found Sami Khedira, he neatly shifted to the striker to once again close out.

Mario Gómez goal sinks Hamburg

After ninety minutes of scoreless action Mario Gómez scored to give VfB a 1-0 victory over Hamburg. With the result die Schwaben extend their winning streak the three matches and are now only three points out of a Champions League spot.

Although the score-line doesn't show it both sides were highly aggressive and attacked at will. For the most part Hamburg were closer in breaking the deadlock early with Croatian international Ivica Olić causing a wealth of problems. As the match entered the final ten minutes the message was clearly "attack" in both directions. Following Roberto Hilbert pounding the ball off the HSV post with nine minutes left with Dennis Aogo doing the same for his side as regulation time ticked away. However the day belonged to Mario Gómez in added-time he volleyed in the winning strike from twelve metres after Frank Rost saved Thomas Hitzlsperger's drive.

Following the match Markus Babbel said of the performance:

"I saw a good game from my team, they battled unyieldingly and were rewarded for that with the late goal. HSV were a very strong opponent, they were well organised and it wasn't at all noticeable that they had just been involved in a UEFA Cup match on Thursday night. Towards the end I didn't feel as if we would get the goal - which made the winner all the nicer! It was tough work out there today."

Babbel & Co charge ahead

With only a single blemish in the Bundesliga under coach Markus Babbel, VfB are zeroing in European competition. The bracing days of the autumn doldrums when the club was stumbling are memory long since cast aside Stuttgart has fought its way to the fifth in the table and look ahead to this Sunday's crucial battle against Martin Jol's HSV.

Since the start of the Rückrunde, VfB has continue on its steam-roller pace with only the uncharacteristic stumble against Bremen to forget. For "Babbel & Co." the match couldn't be better timed as it is the match a champion lustily waits for. Coming straight to the centre of the ring, VfB has a chance to "win" its way to the top of the table against the Hamburg side which presently co-holds the top of the table. A victory for Markus Babel will jettison their hopes for a Champions League berth, unimaginable in the dark days of November.

For Hamburg, the lofty spot seems to have them dizzy of late. A strong victory over Bayern started their year off right but they have stumbled with losses to relegation candidates Karlsruhe and Borussia Mönchengladbach. While the second-half of the Bundesliga season has marked an odd habit of the table virtually tipped on its end, for VfB the opportunity to "win" a berth in the Champions League starts with the first step on Sunday.

Es war ein hartes Stück Arbeit für den VfB

Predicting a tough match, Markus Babbel was absolutely correct as VfB overcome Bochum with a late goal by Serdar Tasci to win 2-1.

After the two-week break, the VfB coach made a few changes to his lineup using Matthieu Delpierre and Martin Lanig for Khalid Boulahrouz and Sami Khedira respectively. Die Bochumer, anxious in their relegation battle, showed the first attacking measures and VfB did well to hold back their early threats. Joël Epalle's effort fifteen minutes in threatened but stayed clear of the netting and thereafter Jens Lehmann was forced into a series of key saves. The match went to the break scoreless with the hosts Bochum looking more of a menace.

Quickly after the restart they continued their dominance as Epalle scored only three minutes in to send the Bochum crowd into a frenzy. Continuing to attack Christoph Dabrowski came close a few minutes later and it seemed like VfB was ready to drop. However just before the hour Cacau leveled the match as he headed-in Thomas Hitzlsperger's corner that had sent on by Martin Lanig. Now level both sides were attack heavy and threatened at either end. Looking like the match was headed for a draw, Markus Babbel made one last substitution bringing Élson in for Roberto Hilbert with a minute left. The impact was swift as he was involved in the final link up of play along with Thomas Hitzlsperger and Martin Lanig as Serdar Tasci closed out the scoring chance from close range to give VfB the 2-1 victory.

The win now has VfB into a Europa League spot but with eyes beading down on Hamburg who they play next week.

Photo Credit: VfB Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (Herbert Rudel)

Jens returns!

Schwaben hopes were answered as Jens Lehmann as decided to extended his contract with VfB till June 30th, 2010.

With the great goalkeepers leadership, VfB can continue towards their goals as Sportdirektor Horst Heldt said:

"Jens Lehmann's decision to extend his contract is an important signal for the whole club and further confirms the fact that we have lofty targets."

Markus Babbel echoed similar sentiments emphasizing not only his playing ability but hailing his leadership:

"We are delighted that Jens has decided to spend a further year at VfB. With his professional attitude, his manner and his personality, he is , in my opinion, one of the best keepers around."

Jens Lehmann, focused on VfB's continued climb up the Bundesliga table was quoted saying:

"VfB is a well run club, with fantastic fans and a positive environment, which makes it fun for me to play here. I'm looking forward to next season, but first of all we are concentrated on finishing the current season as successfully as possible."

Aggressivität in den Zweikämpfen

Schwaben forces face a difficult challenge against Bochum Saturday. As VfB travels to Ruhrstadion, Markus Babbel has to deal with a club that not only is fighting to avoid relegation that has a strong home record but additionally a number of key absences.

Explaining the situation, Markus Babbel said:

"It's certainly not going to be an easy game - we are not going to allow ourselves to be fooled by Bochum's position in the table. We will have to display the type of qualities we did against Hertha, the same determination, aggression in the challenges and cleverness on the ball. If we let up by just 2% we will have problems. That's a nice thing. From next week we can expect to have all four central defenders available again - so I'll be spoiled for choice. It is always the performance in training that counts and, in general, the best possible team will play. With that in mind, I am excited about tomorrow's game."

VfB is on a powerful run that has seen them lost only once since Markus Babbel took over in November. One the verge of overtaking Hoffenheim for the Europa League spot as well as far loftier goals in the remaining nine matches they will however be without Yildiray Bastürk, Ciprian Marica, Sami Khedira, Georges Mandjeck and Georg Niedermeier as well as Ricardo Osorio who won't arrive from international duty till late.

VfB sends Berliners home with 2-0 loss

Following last weeks 4-0 loss to Werder Bremen, VfB's first loss in the Bundesliga under Markus Babbel, die Schwaben responded with a powerful 2-0 victory over league leaders Hertha BSC.

With Markus Babbel promising to "make the Bundesliga again", VfB came out using a significantly revised lineup from last week with Serdar Tasci, Ludovic Magnin, Timo Gebhart and Cacau in for Ricardo Osorio, Arthur Boka, Élson and Ciprian Marica. Although the match went to the break level at the half, in the final fifteen minutes, VfB began to control the run of play with Mario Gómez, Sami Khedira and Timo Gebhart each created problems for the Berliners. However after the break in quick-fire successive VfB had a two goal margin within six minutes. Only two minutes after the restart the weiß-roten had the lead as Gómez headed on a long pass to Cacau to drive from the right side of the box into the opposite high corner. Up by one, the margin was doubled four minutes later Thomas Hitzlsperger's set piece effort was headed in by Sami Khedira. The Berliners immediately looked to strike back by their challenges and as Marko Pantelić entered the match for them just past the hour, he created a multitude of problems for VfB. However each of their scoring chances couldn't find the netting and VfB took the match with a solid 2-0 victory.


Photo Credit: ©Getty Images

unbeaten streak ends in a hurry

After a stunning run of success, VfB’s fortunes turned fast losing 4-0 to Bremen. Clinging to the hope that this is merely a one match “bear market”, VfB stands in sixth place of the Bundesliga, four off-pqce off free-falling Hoffenheim.

After the beating Markus Babbel said:

“We were lacking in every important aspect today and that’s why the defeat was deserved. We never really got into the game and reacted negligently every time. I only rarely saw a real will within the team to actually go and win the game.”

His synopis of the match while cutting was completely truthful as Stuttgart was totally outclassed in the match. As Bremen started fast, Stuttgart ability to stay in the match was based up some quality goalkeeping by Jens Lehmann but soon the situation went from bad to worse quickly. Four minutes past the half hour, Diego curled in a free kick from twenty-five metres and clinging to the one goal margin, Bremen continued with Claudio Pizzaro doubling the margin eight minutes into the new half after he was sprung free by Diego. Defending, classic marking and everything else seen since Markus Babbel took over was absent and Markus Rosenberg added the third goal six minutes later and still a fourth with sixteen minutes remaining before the beating finally stopped at 4-0.

With a spot in Europe on the line, VfB goes toe to toe against Hertha BSC on Saturday

Schwaben keep winning under Markus Babbel

The stunning turnaround of die Schwaben season under Markus Babbel continued with a 2-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund. Since taking over for VfB, the Babbel-led team have yet to lose in the Bundesliga and are now only four points removed from first place.

Tinkering with the starting eleven, Markus Babbel called on Christian Träsch, Roberto Hilbert and Thomas Hitzlsperger for Ludovic Magnin, Timo Gebhart and Martin Lanig. The much talked about BVB defending took at back seat early as Élson's free kick nestled into the net ten minutes after the opening whistle. Owning the run of the match, Mario Gómez nearly increased the lead shortly thereafter as he headed a corner off the post. However for the balance of the half the BVB attack was non-existent and rarely threatened Jens.

After the restart Ricardo Osorio came agonizingly close to doubling the margin but at the fifty-second minute Tamás Hajnal sent the ball to Nelson Valdez and the Paraguayan international brought the match level. However victory was in store for VfB as ten minutes later Roberto Hilberto picked out Mario Gómez and the German international powered the ball in to bring the match to a 2-1 score. Dortmund continued to press but it was not to be and the VfB revival continued with another three points.

Following the match Markus Babbel said:

"Looking at the attempts on goal, it was a deserved win for my team. The flow of play, on the other hand, was quite evenly balanced. I do have to compliment my team though, the really battled hard and gave all they had to prevent an equaliser. The only thing I could really criticise is that we didn't complete the chances we created on the break. The win was hard work for us."

Schwaben welcome Nordrhein-Westfalen neighbours Borussia Dortmund

Schwaben welcome Nordrhein-Westfalen neighbours Borussia Dortmund to Neckarstadion Saturday afternoon. The unbeaten domestic form under Markus Babbel coupled with stumbling form at the top of the table has VfB within seven points of leader Hertha BSC.

BVB is riding a wave of mediocrity in the Rückrunde, yet to win since the start but equally pleased with its ability to play to draws. At ninth in the table, they are only three points behind VfB but showing little signs of making a run for the Europa League spot. While they possess a controlling defending unit, the attack has been rarely been spotted and it wont get any easier as they are without Jakub Błaszczykowski and Sebastian Kehl and have doubts over Tamás Hajnal, Mohamed Zidan and Kevin-Prince Boateng.

VfB's injury situation hasn't changed much with only Ludovic Magnin added to the absentee list of Arthur Boka, Matthieu Delpierre and Yildiray Bastürk.

Markus Babbel said of the opposition:

"We want a win to continue our plight to take one of the places in the higher regions of the table. It is important that we maintain a high tempo right from the out-set but also be patient. We'll have to keep our opponents on their toes and tire them out. We certainly won't get a thousand chances so we'll have to use the few we can create. Our target is to go in front and make use of our strength on the break."

Schwaben win Baden-Württembergischen derby 2-0

VfB's perfect form in the Rückrunde continued as they defeated Karlsruher SC 2-0 in the Baden-Württembergischen derby at Wildparkstadion. Following the midweek defeat in the UEFA Cup Markus Babbel made a number of changes to his starting lineup including Schwaben debuts for nineteen year-old Timo Gebhart and Georg Niedermeier.

KSC's tough demeanor shone brightly as VfB's scoring chances were limited before the half hour mark. However in the final fifteen minutes both Ciprian Marica and Martin Lanig hammered their offerings off the post and the match was deadlocked at the break. However five minutes after the restart Mario Gómez linked up with Marica who then crossed to Élson at the far post, which he finished with precision. KSC came storming back but Jens Lehmann laid down the law and wouldn't let an attempt by him. Finally, with only two minutes remaining, Sami Khedira scored after collecting a rebound of his own effort and made no mistakes with the second opportunity, bringing the match to a final 2-0 score.

Following the match Markus Babbel noted his pleasure with the match:

"I'm highly satisfied with the result. I also think we deserved the win. We had problems at the beginning and weren't really fresh. In the second half we then played to our strengths and were technically better. Following a tough UEFA Cup game against Zenit St. Petersburg on Thursday night, the lads battled their way into this game and earned themselves the three points."


Photo credit: VfB Stuttgart

Baden-Württembergischen derby

After the tough loss in the UEFA Cup against Zenit Saint Petersburg, VfB make the short trip to Karlsruher SC for the Baden-Württembergischen derby. While near the bottom of the Bundesliga table Edmund Becker's club is far from a pushover and can come up big at home in front of their highly supportive fans as Hamburger SV found out when they defeated them 3-2 last month.

Die Schwaben will be without Yıldıray Baştürk, Matthieu Delpierre and Sebastian Rudy to injury with Khalid Boulahrouz suspended while KSC will miss Maik Franz, Massimilian Porcello and Tim Sebastian.

KSC coach Edmund Becker said before the match:

"This game will be influenced a lot from the outside - in particular through the fans and press. There is no question that it's a special game but I don't see the sort of explosiveness that is being presented from some people. The only thing that matters to us is being as successful as possible. It makes no difference whether it's VfB or any other team.

"After the result against Frankfurt and the defeat to VfB earlier in the season, we will be out to get revenge but I don't wish to guess at the score, that's not for me to do!"

Schwaben need twelfth man

Fans of attacking Football will be treated to quite the clash today as die Schwaben welcome Zenit Saint Petersburg to the Neckarstadion. With the opening leg ending 2-1 in frozen Saint Petersburg, VfB can quickly close the margin and take advantage of the "away" goal.

The defending champions will be hampered with the loss of Radek Šírl and Anatoliy Tymoschuk to suspension along with Tomáš Hubočan and Nicolas Lombaerts to injury. Markus Babbel will miss Yildiray Bastürk, Arthur Boka and Matthieu Delpierre and Ludovic Magnin is questionable due to a very heavy cold.

Prior to the match Marcus Babbel said:

"We can go into the game with the comforting knowledge that we are always capable of getting a goal. If we are to do that though, we will have to go into this game with the same attitude and with the same mentality that we approached the Hoffenheim game in, but at the same time, we must put a stop to our individual mistakes.

"I appeal to everyone, despite the late kick-off time and the live television broadcasting of the match, to come to the stadium and support us. We could really do with that twelfth man!"