Football Season Guide

It took three changes of management for Stuttgart to finally get it right last season and even then they only survived via the relegation play-off. A poor start saw Matarazzo sacked in October and things failed to improve much under interim Wimmer and then Labbadia. Former Hoffenheim boss Hoeneß was the last to try his luck and succeeded with a positive end to the season. Stuttgart have been slipping the last few seasons so a change in direction is needed. Coach Hoeneß looks like the man to take them forward and their transfer business so far has been positive. Six new players have arrived and striker Guirassy has been signed permanently after an impressive loan spell. Stuttgart have also acted in the goalkeeping department with the shrewd loan signing of Alexander Nubel from Bayern Munich. Florian Muller fell out of favour last season and has now moved to Freiburg, so Nubel should bring some calm and quality to the position which has been missing since Kobel left for Dortmund. The majority of the other signings are in forward areas as Stuttgart look to improve their ruthlessness in front of goal, too often last season, they were punished for not taking their chances. Striker Undav has shown flashes of his quality with Brighton and is a smart loan signing, while young Serbian striker Milosevic has big potential up front. Jeong is experienced in the division with his previous club Freiburg and should help to bring goals and assists. Important players such as Mavrapanos, Endo, and, Sosa also remain so that is another tick in the box. The defence is still an area of concern due to their forward-thinking approach. Stuttgart kept just two clean-sheets last season and other than the purchase of left-back Mittelstadt, they have not strengthened much in that area so far.