VfB Stuttgart – Wolfsburg
Date: 18th March 2023, 3:30 pm
Result: 0 – 1
Clunk!
Do you know what that is? It's the sound of VfB Stuttgart crashing onto to
bottom of the league table. It's the moment I've been fearing for months,
though I hoped it would never happen.
I had a seat in the top row of the stadium. Usually I don't like sitting so
far from the action, because the players are running around like ants far
below me. I can't see their faces, and I can barely make out their shirt
numbers. Today it was an advantage for me, because the global overview showed me
what was going wrong. Stuttgart was playing strongly on the left and right
wings, but when they went into the attack they had nobody in the centre to
take the ball. One of the side players had to run into the centre to take a
shot, and by the time he arrived it was too late.
The first half was depressing. VfB Stuttgart had no energy. They gave away
corner after corner. I'm surprised that Wolfsburg didn't score. In the second
half Stuttgart played more aggressively, but they couldn't put an attack
together. When Wolfsburg finally scored, the ball was merely dribbled into
Stuttgart's goal. It didn't look like a shot. From my high vantage position I
rubbed my eyes. "Is that it?"
After the match I was sitting in the Bier & Brezel pub chatting with two
Stuttgart fans. One of them summed the game up: "Wolfsburg played badly, but
Stuttgart was worse". I couldn't have put it better myself. The way Stuttgart
was playing, a good opponent should have hammered five balls into the goal.
In an interview after the match the Stuttgart trainer, Bruno Labbadia, said
"I don't have to worry about my job". The very fact that he has to make
this statement shows how worried he should be. He was hired when Stuttgart was
doing badly. Since his arrival the team has been playing worse.
I've promised my friends that I'll buy a Stuttgart shirt if the team finishes
in the top eight places. They laughed and said it won't happen. Maybe next
season. Or maybe not.
| 1. | Dortmund | 53 |
| 2. | Bayern München | 52 |
| 3. | RB Leipzig | 45 |
| 4. | Union Berlin | 45 |
| 5. | SC Freiburg | 45 |
| 6. | Eintracht Frankfurt | 40 |
| 7. | Wolfsburg | 38 |
| 8. | Mainz | 36 |
| 9. | Leverkusen | 34 |
| 10. | Mönchengladbach | 31 |
| 11. | Werder Bremen | 31 |
| 12. | Augsburg | 28 |
| 13. | Köln | 27 |
| 14. | VfL Bochum | 25 |
| 15. | Hoffenheim | 22 |
| 16. | Hertha | 21 |
| 17. | Schalke 04 | 21 |
| 18. | VfB Stuttgart | 20 |
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