VfB Stuttgart (Germany)

VfB Stuttgart

Ground: MHPArena (Neckarstadion)

Capacity: 60,058

Club Founded: 1893

League: Bundesliga (current level)

One of Germany’s most historic clubs, VfB Stuttgart have enjoyed decades of success while developing some of the country’s finest footballing talent. From Bundesliga titles to memorable European nights, the club remains a proud symbol of football in Baden-Württemberg.

VfB Stuttgart History

Early Years

The club’s origins can be traced to the formation of Stuttgarter Fußballverein, which played rugby at Stöckach-Eisbahn before moving to Cannstatter Wasen in 1894. A football section was added several years later to play in the Südkreis-Liga. Meanwhile, another local club, Cannstatter Fußballklub, followed a similar route in its early years.

Later, under the name of FC Krone Cannstatt, they joined the Süddeutschen Fußballverband. The club had their own ground, now home to TSVgg Stuttgart-Münster e.V. 1875/99. On the 2nd April 1912, Stuttgarter FV and Kronen-Club Cannstatt merged to form VfB Stuttgart. 

Progressing through local leagues, they were crowned champions of Bezirksliga Württemberg-Baden. VfB moved into the Neckarstadion and was placed in the Gauliga Württemberg during the rule of the Third Reich.

A Golden Period

The division was won five times while a rivalry with Stuttgarter Kickers intensified. In 1935, the team reached the national final, where they lost 6-4 to reigning champions FC Schalke 04. After World War II, ‘Die Schwaben’ were placed in the Oberliga Süd, capturing the title before enjoying a real golden period. 

Another title was lifted in 1949-50 with the team going on to be crowned as national champions following a 2-1 victory over Kickers Offenbach in Berlin. A second German title in 1951-52 with Georg Wurzer, the successful coach, once again as 1. FC Saarbrücken were defeated 3-2 at the Südweststadion in Ludwigshafen. 

Otto Baitinger scored twice, with the other goal coming from star player Robert Schlienz, who had earlier in life lost a forearm in an accident. VfB returned to Ludwigshafen to defeat 1. FC Köln 1-0 after extra time to win the DFB-Pokal German Cup through a goal from Erwin Waldner to complete the double with the Oberliga Süd title in 1953-54. 

More Honours, then Relegation

The Pokal was lifted for a second time in the golden era under coach Wurzer four years later, with a 4-3 extra-time victory over Fortuna Düsseldorf in Kassel, thanks to goals from Dieter Praxl, Rolf Geiger, Waldner and Lothar Weise. VfB became a founder member of the newly formed Bundesliga in 1963. 

Dieter Höller and Horst Köppel scored the goals for the team throughout the 60s under trainer Kurt Baluses and then Gunther Baumann. Hermann Eppenhoff’s team reached the UEFA Cup semi-finals before going out 4-3 on aggregate to Feyenoord. Despite this fine run, VfB were relegated at the end of the 1974-75 season

They reclaimed a top-flight spot under trainer Jürgen Sundermann, as  Karlheinz Förster, Hansi Müller and Ottmar Hitzfeld romped to the 2. Bundesliga title. In 1979-80, the last four teams left in the UEFA Cup were all from West Germany. VfB were defeated by Borussia Mönchengladbach 4-1 over two legs. 

Bundesliga Champions

After several promising Bundesliga seasons, VfB Stuttgart were crowned champions in 1983-84, under trainer Helmut Benthaus. Jürgen Klinsmann joined the ranks in the late 1980s from Kickers. Before the end of the decade, VfB went all the way to the final of the UEFA Cup.

They were denied their first European silverware as Diego Maradona's Napoli ran out as 5-4 winners over the two games. The 1991-92 season saw the club being crowned as German champions for a fourth time under the guidance of Christoph Daum, with Fritz Walter, Michael Frontzeck, Matthias Sammer, Eike Immel and skipper Guido Buchwald starring.

Five years later, Joachim Löw, VfB defeated Energie Cottbus 2-0 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin in the final of the DFB-Pokal with two goals from Giovane Élber. The win was backed up a year later, when Chelsea defeated Stuttgart in the European Cup Winners' Cup final in Stockholm. 

Relegation 

Felix Magath took charge of the team a few years before Armin Veh took VfB to another Bundesliga title in 2006-07. Antônio da Silva, Mario Gómez, Serdar Tasci and Sami Khedira were among the stars. The double was denied with a 3-2 extra-time defeat against 1. FC Nürnberg in the Pokal final. 

Some consistent league performances led to brief runs in the UEFA Champions League, with trainers Markus Babbel and then Christian Gross taking charge of the team. Bruno Labbadia was hired in January 2011, helping to save Stuttgart from relegation.

VfB were relegated at the end of the 2015-16 campaign, not helped by the chopping and changing of the trainer. The goals of Simon Terodde fired the team to 2. Bundesliga title a year later, under trainer Hannes Wolf. A couple of years later, another relegation was suffered after a playoff defeat to Union Berlin.

Recent Years

Pellegrino Matarazzo led the team to promotion in 2019-20. Back in the Bundesliga, Sebastian Hoeneß was appointed as trainer after a few seasons of struggle before the goals of Serhou Guirassy and Deniz Undav fired the side to runners-up in 2023-24, before finishing fourth a couple of seasons later.

My visit

VfB Stuttgart 1 FC Köln 3

Bundesliga - Sunday 16th August 2015

👨‍👨‍👧‍👧 59,500 🎟️ €27

Time to Explore Stuttgart

The match at the Mercedes-Benz-Arena, as the Neckarstadion had been renamed in a sponsorship deal, was the main attraction of my weekend around Stuttgart. It was the last match in the opening set of fixtures of the new Bundesliga season. The 5.30pm kick-off allowed me time to expand my knowledge of the local football scene. 

The crowds were starting to gather in the bars near my hotel in Bad Canstatt as I headed off for my lunchtime fixture; the Oberliga encounter between SC Stuttgarter Kickers II and FC 08 Villingen. At full-time, I followed the advice to take one of the special U11 tram services directly to the stadium. 

It quickly became apparent while standing on the busy platform at Alexanderstraße that this would not be easy, as the first special was packed solid. Instead, I caught one heading back towards my hotel, following the other fans jumping off at Mercedesstraße. From there, it was a twenty-minute walk through a large open space used for the Canstatt Messe fair.

Match Build-Up

The main drag nearing the stadium was closed off to traffic. Stalls were serving fans with refreshments and souvenirs over the road by the Porsche Arena. I carried on up the road past the main entrance to the Haupttribüne before finding the gates to give me access to the Untertürkheimer Kurve. 

Following a quick ticket scan and frisk, I was inside. I helped myself to one of the free match magazines from a huge pile and went upstairs for some refreshments. The sausage was decent enough value for €2.40, but the beer was expensive at €4.20. It cost a further €1 for the hard-plastic glass, which was refunded when returned. 

It was slightly disappointing to find that the beer was Krombacher rather than from a local brewery. It was time to go upstairs and find my seat. I always try to book a place at the end of a row, preferably in a place that gives me a good all-around view. I was in the top corner of the lower continuous tier. 

Impressive Stadium

The most vocal home fans congregated in the Canstatter Kurve at the far end, and in the opposite corner at the same end as me, which housed the visiting supporters ultras. The Neckarstadion had changed massively over the previous twenty-five years. It once had a running track around the pitch and wasn't hugely developed.

It was the scene of the Euro '88 clash when Ireland defeated England. It had been rebuilt for the 2006 World Cup and was now an excellent place to watch football. The noise leading up to kick-off from both sets of fans was tremendous, as was the display of flags. The teams entered the arena to a tremendous ovation. 

The Match

Neither side wasted any time in playing attractive quality football. Köln nearly struck first when a fine swerving shot from Matthias Lehmann struck the foot of the post with home keeper Przemysław Tytoń beaten. VfB responded soon after as they themselves struck the woodwork. 

A ferocious effort from Daniel Didavi smashed against the visitor’s crossbar with Timo Horn in the Köln net, grasping thin air. Then Christian Gentner’s effort hit the left-hand post in the twelfth minute.  Although Köln sporadically attacked, the home side did most of the pressing. A mixture of bad luck, good goalkeeping and decent defending kept VfB at bay. 

It was surprising that the half ended scoreless. There was still plenty of optimism on the concourse while I enjoyed a beer. The noise from the fans never abated. Stuttgart were giving the home support plenty to get excited about. Wave after wave of attacks and efforts on goal were being fired in, but the Köln defence would not give way. 

VfB’s Martin Harnik was having a fine match, as Horn was really earning his wages. Then, out of nowhere, the match turned on its head in the seventy-fifth minute. Köln’s Anthony Modeste broke into the area when Tytoń upended him. Referee Wolfgang Stark had no hesitation in pointing to the spot, and Modeste dusted himself down and blasted the ball into the net. 

It was amazing to see just how many away fans were sitting in different parts of the stadium when the goal went in, yet there was no hint of malice. This was football as it’s meant to be. Two minutes later, the VfB support and team were left totally shell-shocked. 

A fine but simplistic move cut the Stuttgart defence apart as they stood like statues. Kevin Vogt set up Simon Zoller to smash home and send the Köln fans into ecstasy. VfB looked to rally and were offered hope when Zoller clipped the heels of Filip Kostić in the area. Didavi made no mistake from the spot to set up a frantic final eleven minutes.

VfB threw everything forward as shots were saved and blocked while numerous corners put the squeeze on the Köln side, who were defending with all hands to the pump. In the second minute of stoppage time, Modeste broke away at pace and into the clear. As he got into the penalty area, sliding the ball sideways for substitute Yūya Ōsako to score into an empty net.

Post-Match Fun in Bad Cannstatt

By now, I was standing at the back for a quick getaway. The goal was met by shrugs of the shoulders and ironic smiles by the bloke next to me. The visiting fans couldn’t believe it. Talk about a smash-and-grab raid! It was the cue for me to be off and running as fast as I could in my hurting feet, caused by a new pair of trainers. 

Ideally, I would catch a U19 tram at the stadium halt, but there were none in view, so I jumped aboard the first one I could and changed at Mercedesstraße for a service under the bridge to Wilhelmsplatz in the centre of Bad Cannstatt. After dropping off my programme, it was time to find some bars to take in the post-match reaction. 

I decided to start in The Corner Bar, a fine establishment that showed sports and served the lovely Schwaben Bräu. I had a nice chat with some locals, one of whom showed me the UK scores. Chelsea had been hammered, and Hull City drew. Time for more beer! I selected Gaststätte Pfiff as my next port of call, drawn in by the cheap offer on Paulaner beer. 

The dreary dark bar was no fun, so I went on to the lively and jolly bar up the street for a couple of beers, while watching the goals round up. A pizza and bed by 10.30, as the following morning, I needed a direct S-Bahn service from Bad Canstatt to the airport for my Easyjet flight home. It had been another superb weekend in Germany.