Football Season Guide

Stuttgart were hoping to take a safe mid table position last season but ended up back in the relegation fight. Huub Stevens had to be called in for a second season running to save them from the drop but has once again left the team following the completion of his task. The man chosen to take the team forward for this season is former RB Leipzig coach Alexander Zorniger. He will hope to last longer than some of his predecessors with his brief to try and stablise the side in the league. But the quality of the squad has not really been improved over the summer. Zorniger’s first task was to replace regular keeper Sven Ulrich who left very early on in the summer and two new goalkeepers have been bought. Mitchell Langerak arrives from Borussia Dortmund after being told that he would not become their new number one while Przemyslav Tyton comes from Dutch side PSV Eindhoven. Langerak goes into the season carrying an injury which means that Tyton will start as their number one but has a lot of experience, both in the league and internationally with Poland. New left back Emiliano Insua will also improve the squad and finally solve their problem in that position after having a number of players filling in there last term. Otherwise the rest of their signings are either loans finishing or unproven players such as Jan Kliment. Many of their outgoings are either those who were unsettled or a few who had been playing with the U23 squad for last season. The first team squad is now the core side from last term with a few additions. But the strength and overall quality of this side remains questionable. They lack a real source of goals as Vedad Ibisevic looks unlikely to reconcile with the management team and much will expected of Daniel Ginczek, if he can stay injury free. Captain Christian Gentner will have to lead this squad of youngsters and new players through the rigours of a Bundesliga season and he will once again be the key man for the club. Gentner is also one of the few players who could play for a better side in the league. Another highly rated Stuttgarter is Antonio Rüdiger who has been heavily linked with a move away from the club which would be a big loss for them. More than anything else Stuttgart need to stick with one manager for longer than a season who can develop his squad. Whether Zorniger gets given that chance remains to be seen. If he cannot bring the current group of players together and get some improvement out of them in comparison to last season, they could well be in trouble again come the end of the season.