A membership-based club with over 100,000 members,[3] VfB is the largest sports club inBaden-Württemberg and the eighth-largest football club in Germany. It has departments forfistball,field hockey,track and field,table tennis, andfootball referees, all of which compete only at the amateur level. The club also maintains anesports department and a social department, theVfB-Garde.
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart was formed through a 2 April 1912 merger of predecessor sidesStuttgarter FV andFC Krone Cannstatt following a meeting in the Concordia hotel inCannstatt. Each of these clubs was made up of school pupils with middle-class roots[4] who learned new sports such asrugby union and football from English expatriates such asWilliam Cail who introduced rugby in 1865.[5]
Stuttgarter Fußballverein was founded at the Zum Becher hotel inStuttgart on 9 September 1893.[6]FV were initially arugby club, playing games at Stöckach-Eisbahn before moving to Cannstatter Wasen in 1894. The rugby club established a football section in 1908. The team drew players primarily from local schools, under the direction of teacher Carl Kaufmann, and quickly achieved its first success; in 1909, they were runners-up toFSV 1897 Hannover in the national rugby final, losing 6–3.[7] Rugby was soon replaced by association football within the club, as spectators found the game too complicated to follow.
In 1909,FV joined the Süddeutschen Fußballverband (South German Football Association),[8] playing in the second tier B-Klasse. In their second seasonFV won a district final against future merger partnerKronen-Klub Cannstatt before being defeated byFV Zuffenhausen in the county championship that would have seen the side promoted. They eventually advanced to the seniorSüdkreis-Liga in 1912.
Cannstatter Fußballklub was formed as a rugby club in 1890 and also quickly established a football team. This club was dissolved after just a few years of play and the former membership re-organized themselves asFC Krone Cannstatt in 1897 to compete as a football-only side.[9] The new team joined the Süddeutschen Fußballverband (SFV) as a second division club and won promotion in 1904.Krone possessed their own ground, which still exists today as the home of TSV Münster.
Following the 1912 merger of these two clubs, the combined side played at first in theKreisliga Württemberg and then in theBezirksliga Württemberg-Baden, earning a number of top three finishes and claiming a title there in 1927. The club also made several appearances in the final rounds of the SFV in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
In 1933, VfB moved toNeckar Stadium, the site of its current ground. German football was re-organized that same year under theThird Reich into sixteen top-flight divisions calledGauligen. Stuttgart played in theGauliga Württemberg and won division titles in 1935, 1937, 1938, 1940, and 1943 before the Gauliga system collapsed part way through the 1944–45 season due toWorld War II. The club had an intense rivalry withStuttgarter Kickers throughout this period.
VfB's Gauliga titles earned the team entry to the national playoff rounds, with their best result coming in 1935 when they advanced to the final where they lost 4–6 to defending championsSchalke 04, the dominant side of the era. After a third-place result at the national level in 1937, Stuttgart was not able to advance out of the preliminary rounds in subsequent appearances.
VfB continued to play first division football in theOberliga Süd, capturing titles in 1946, 1952, and 1954. They made regular appearances in the German championship rounds, emerging asnational champions in 1950 and 1952, finishing as runner-up in 1953, and winning twoDFB-Pokal titles in1954 and1958. The team which won four titles in eight years was led byRobert Schlienz who had lost his left arm in a car crash. Despite these successes, no player from the Stuttgart squad had a place in the team that won the1954 FIFA World Cup.
Due to disappointing results in international competition including the1958 and1962 FIFA World Cup, and in response to the growth of professionalism in the sport, theGerman Football Association (DFB) replaced the regional top flight competitions with a single nationwide professional league in 1963. Stuttgart's consistently solid play through the 1950s earned them a place among the 16 clubs that would make up the originalBundesliga. As an amateur organisation, and due to proverbialSwabian austerity, the club hesitated to spend money, and some players continued to work in an everyday job. Throughout the balance of the decade and until the mid-1970s, the club would generally earn mid-table results.
In1973, the team qualified for theUEFA Cup for the first time and advanced to the semi-finals of the1974 tournament where they were eliminated by eventual winnersFeyenoord (1–2, 2–2).
VfB Stuttgart was in crisis in the mid-1970s, having missed new trends in football such as club sponsorship. Attempts to catch up with new levels of professionalism by spending money failed. Towards the end of the1974–75 season, with the team in imminent danger of being relegated toSecond Bundesliga, local politicianGerhard Mayer-Vorfelder was elected as new president. However, a draw in the final game of the season meant that VfB would be ranked 16th and lose its Bundesliga status. The first season in the second league, considered the worst in its history, ended with VfB being ranked 11th, having even lost a home game against local rivalSSV Reutlingen in front of just 1,200 spectators.
The young team were renowned for offensive and high-scoring play, but suffered from lack of experience. At the end of1977–78, VfB was ranked fourth, but the average attendance of over 53,000 set the league record until the 1990s. In 1978/79 they finished second in the Bundesliga. They made another UEFA Cup semi-final appearance in1980 and delivered a number of top four finishes on their way to their first Bundesliga title – the club's third national title – in the1983/84 season, now under coachHelmut Benthaus.
In1991–92, Stuttgart clinched its fourth title, in one of the closest races in Bundesliga history, finishing ahead ofBorussia Dortmund on goal difference. Internationally, they had been eliminated from UEFA Cup play that season (1991–92) after losing their second round match to Spanish sideOsasuna (2–3). As national champions, the club qualified to play in theUEFA Champions League in1992–93, but were eliminated in the first round byLeeds United after a tie-breaking third match inBarcelona which was required due to coachChristoph Daum having substituted a fourth non-German player in the tie's second leg.
VfB did not qualify for any European competition again until 1997, by way of their third German Cup win, with coachJoachim Löw. They advanced to the1998 European Cup Winners' Cup final, where they lost toChelsea in what was the penultimate year of the competition. Only one player of the "magic triangle", captainKrassimir Balakov, remained afterGiovane Élber andFredi Bobic left. Löw's contract was not renewed, and he was replaced byWinfried Schäfer, who in turn was sacked after one season.
Stuttgart's performance, however, fell off after this as the club earned just mid-table results over the next two seasons despite spending money on the transfer market and having veterans like Balakov.
Due to high debts and the lack of results, Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder finally resigned from VfB in 2000 to take over offices at the DFB,UEFA, andFIFA. New president Manfred Haas had to renegotiate expensive contracts with players who seldom appeared on the field anyway. As in 1976, when Mayer-Vorfelder had taken over, the team had to be rebuilt by relying on talents from the youth teams. The VfB has Germany's most successful program in the German youth Championship.
CoachRalf Rangnick had started a restructuring of the team that won the Intertoto Cup, but the resulting extra strain of the UEFA Cup participation ended in narrowly escaping from relegation in2001 by clinching the 15th spot in the league table. Rangnick was replaced byFelix Magath.
VfB qualified for their second Champions League appearance for2003–04, beatingManchester United andRangers once andPanathinaikos twice to advance from thegroup stage as runners-up to Manchester United. They were then matched against Chelsea in theround of 16, falling 0–1 and 0–0 over two legs.
Stuttgart continued to play as one of the top teams in the country, earning fourth and fifth place Bundesliga finishes in2003–04 and2004–05 respectively, and again taking part in theUEFA Cup, but without great success. In addition, coach Magath and several players left for another clubs: Kevin Kurányi for Schalke 04,Philipp Lahm for Bayern Munich and Alexander Hleb forArsenal.
Halfway through the disappointing2005–06 season,Giovanni Trapattoni was sacked and replaced byArmin Veh. The new coach was designated as a stop-gap due to having resigned fromHansa Rostock in 2003 to focus on his family and having no football job since 2004, save for coaching his home teamFC Augsburg for one season. Supported by new managerHorst Heldt, Veh could establish himself and his concept of focusing on promising inexpensive players rather than established stars. Team captain,Zvonimir Soldo, retired, and other veterans left the team that slipped to ninth place and did not qualify for European competition for the first time in four years.
Despite early-season losses and ensuing criticism in2006–07, including a 3–0 loss at home to1. FC Nürnberg, Veh managed to turn the collection of new players like MexicansPável Pardo, andRicardo Osorio, BrazilianAntônio da Silva and fresh local talents, includingMario Gómez,Serdar Tasci, andSami Khedira, into a strong contender that led the league on 12 November 2006 for the first time in two years. Stuttgart established themselves among the top five and delivered a strong challenge for the Bundesliga title by winning their final eight games. In the penultimate week on 12 May 2007, Stuttgart beatVfL Bochum 3–2 away from home, taking the Bundesliga lead from Schalke 04 and at minimum securing a spot in the2007–08 Champions League. After trailing 0–1 in the final match of the season againstEnergie Cottbus, Stuttgart came back to win 2–1 and claim their first Bundesliga title in 15 years. The victory celebrations in Stuttgart, totalling 250,000 people, even topped those ofGermany's third place win overPortugal in the2006 FIFA World Cup.
In addition, VfB had their first ever chance to win thedouble as they also reached the final of the German Cup for the first time since their victory there ten years former. Their opponents in the cup final in Berlin were 1. FC Nürnberg, a team that had beaten them twice by three goals in regular season, 3–0 and 4–1, and had last won the cup in 1962. With the game level at 1–1 in the first half, Stuttgart's scorerCacau was sent off. Nürnberg gained a 2–1 lead early in the second half, but the ten men of VfB managed to fight back and equalize. In the second half of extra time, however, with both teams suffering from exhaustion and the humid conditions, Nürnberg scored the winning goal.
The 2007–08 UEFA Champions League draw on 30 August 2007 paired the German champions withSpanish giantsBarcelona,French championsLyon andScottishOld Firm sideRangers. Like in the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League season, Stuttgart's 2007–08 European campaign started with a match atIbrox Park inGlasgow against Rangers. It ended in a 2–1 defeat. The second match at home against Barcelona was likewise lost, 0–2, as well as the third match, against Lyon at home, with the visitors coming out 2–0 winners from two-second-half strikes. Five defeats and just one win (over Rangers) meant the early exit on the European stage. In the league, they managed to finish in sixth place after a poor start. New German international star Mario Gómez scored 19 goals.
Subsequently, UEFA Cup qualification was ensured in the summer by succeeding in the2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup.
The2008–09 season, like the one before it, got off to a bad start. After matchday 14 in November, VfB was only 11th in the table and as a result, Armin Veh was sacked and replaced byMarkus Babbel. After exiting the German Cup after a 1–5 thrashing from Bayern Munich in January, prospects improved considerably and the team ended third in the table, with second place just being missed after a loss to Bayern on the last matchday. That meant the chance of making theChampions League again.
Internationally, VfB mastered the group stages of the2008–09 UEFA Cup, but lost to Cup defendersZenit Saint Petersburg in the round of the last 32 in February.
Stuttgart went into the 2009–10 season with Mario Gómez leaving for Bayern Munich, just asPavel Pogrebnyak arrived from Zenit Saint Petersburg and Alexander Hleb returning on loan from Barcelona.
On the European level, Stuttgart started the season with a huge success by qualifying for the group stage of the2009–10 UEFA Champions League. Stuttgart entered that competition for the third time in six years (after 2003 and 2007) by defeating Romanian sidePolitehnica Timișoara in theChampions League play-off round on 18 and 26 August 2009. VfB were then drawn into Group G against Spanish sideSevilla, Scottish champions Rangers, against whom they had also been drawn against in their previous two Champions League Group stage appearances, and Romanian championsUnirea Urziceni. With two wins (one each against Rangers and Unirea), three draws (one each against all opponents) and a loss (to Sevilla) they managed second spot in the group, thus qualifying for the round of the last 16, where they had to face title holders Barcelona in late winter. After a 1–1 home draw, Stuttgart were eliminated after a 4–0 loss atCamp Nou.
In the2009–10 DFB-Pokal, they did not proceed further than the last 16 either, losing to second-tier sideSpVgg Greuther Fürth. That defeat came in the course of a disappointing first half of the2009–10 Bundesliga. As a consequence of slipping to 16th spot in December, young coach Markus Babbel was fired after matchday 15 and replaced by the more experienced SwissChristian Gross. Under his tenure, VfB improved their situation domestically as well as internationally before the winter break. During that break,Thomas Hitzlsperger,Jan Šimák andLudovic Magnin left the club;Cristian Molinaro was loaned out fromJuventus. In the later half of the season, the team – as in the 2008–09 season – were the best performing side of the second half of the Bundesliga, and under Gross they climbed into the upper half of the table and, eventually managed to secure European football for the following season by qualifying for the Europa League.
The2010–11 season was a mediocre one—after again spending the first half of the season almost always in therelegation zone (17th and 18th spot), with Christian Gross being fired and interim coachJens Keller taking over for the rest of the first leg,Bruno Labbadia was hired as new coach in January and managed to save VfB from relegation. Eventually, the team finished 12th after a decent second-half performance. In July 2011, Erwin Staudt did not participate again in the election of the president andGerd E. Mäuser was elected as president.
In the following2011–12 season, they managed to constantly climb up the table; this was especially thanks to a long unbeaten streak in the spring. Subsequently, VfB qualified for the2012–13 UEFA Europa League. Key players during that season wereMartin Harnik, who scored 17 goals, as well as wingerGōtoku Sakai and forwardVedad Ibišević, who both came to Stuttgart in January 2012.
Stuttgart in 2013
With effect from 3 June 2013, Gerd E. Mäuser announced his resignation as president of VfB Stuttgart.[10] On 2 July 2013, the supervisory board of the club namedBernd Wahler as the candidate for the presidential elections.[11] On 22 July 2013, Wahler was elected by 97.4% of the votes cast.[12]
After barely avoiding relegation from the Bundesliga in the2014–15 season, Stuttgart were relegated to the2. Bundesliga in the2015–16 season after finishing in 17th place, having been unable to lift themselves out of the bottom three positions until the end of the season.[13] Following matchday 13, a home match against FC Augsburg and their second consecutive 4–0 loss, Stuttgart decided to terminateAlexander Zorniger's contract and appointedJürgen Kramny as their manager for an indefinite period. After Stuttgart were relegated to the2. Bundesliga, Wahler resigned as president on 15 May 2016.[14] Kramny was subsequently sacked as coach.
On 17 May 2016,Jos Luhukay was announced as the new head coach.[15] In July 2016,Jan Schindelmeiser became the sporting director and member of the executive board.[16] Head coach Luhukay resigned on 15 September 2016 and was replaced byHannes Wolf.[17] At the end of the season, Stuttgart returned to theBundesliga as the 2. Bundesliga champions. On 22 December 2017, after nearly 10 years since his departure, Bundesliga title winning striker Mario Gomez returned to the team from fellow Bundesliga sideVfL Wolfsburg, The team made a solid return season to the Bundesliga, finishing in 7th place. However, they slumped to 16ththe following season, eventually ending up relegated via play-offs againstUnion Berlin.
Stuttgart appointedThomas Hitzlsperger as the sporting CEO, and in April they appointedSven Mislintat as the sporting director, coming fromBorussia Dortmund andArsenal. In July 2019, Stuttgart was relegated to the second division, and started to rebuild the team. In mid-season, December 2019, former coachTim Walter was fired andPellegrino Matarazzo was signed. After one season, Stuttgart returned to the Bundesliga after finishing second in the2019–20 2. Bundesliga season.
Stuttgart stayed in the Bundesliga in the2020–21 season, finishing in ninth place in the league.[18] In the2021–22 season, the team narrowly avoided relegation; a last-minute-win against1. FC Köln on the last match day guaranteed them a spot in the first league for a third consecutive season.[19] In the2022–23 season, Stuttgart managed to stay in the Bundesliga for a fourth consecutive season, but again only very closely, with Stuttgart finishing in 16th place and only qualifying for the next season thanks to successful play-offs.
The2023–24 season for Stuttgart has been one of the most successful ones of the club's history.[20] Stuttgart was frequently called "the surprise team of the season". In Bundesliga, they played their best season ever based on the number and rate of victories. They remained in 3rd place of theBundesliga for most of the matchdays, only behind Leverkusen and Bayern, until they surpassed Bayern Munich on the final matchday to finish as Bundesliga runners-up. It was the club's best performance since winning the league in 2007.[21] They also reached the quarter-finals inthe DFB Pokal, where they defeated1. FC Union Berlin andBorussia Dortmund before losing to eventual winnersBayer Leverkusen 3–2. StrikersSerhou Guirassy andDeniz Undav were among the top goalscorers worldwide, with Guirassy even breaking the all-time Stuttgart record of most goals in a season despite missing some games.[22] Deniz Undav,Alexander Nübel,Chris Führich,Maximilian Mittelstädt andWaldemar Anton were nominated for the preliminary squad of the Germany national team for theUEFA Euro 2024, a club record high for number of players ever selected from the club in a major tournament.[23]
The club began2024–25 season with a heartbreaking 4–3 shootout loss in the2024 DFL-Supercup to Leverkusen after a 2–2 draw in regular time, a competition they qualified in lieu of finishing 2nd in the league the previous season. They were not unable to repeat the heroics of last time, as the club finished in 9th, even setting a miserable club record of six straight defeats in Bundesliga home games. They finished 26th in the2024–25 UEFA Champions League league phase, missing out on knockout playoffs after a 4–1 defeat to PSG on final matchday. Their Champions League campaign included a memorable 1–0 away win againstJuventus FC. However, the club still qualified for Europe as they broke an 18-year long trophy drought by winning the2024–25 DFB-Pokal, winning 4–2 against third-tier sideArminia Bielefeld in the final, thus qualifying for2025–26 UEFA Europa League and for hosting the newly renamedFranz Beckenbauer Supercup against league winners Bayern Munich in the2025 edition.
The home ground of VfB Stuttgart is theMHPArena which was originally built in 1933. It lies close to the RiverNeckar onBad Cannstatt's Mercedesstraße near the newMercedes-Benz Museum andMercedes-Benz factory. After being renovated several times, the stadium was able to hold a maximum capacity of 55,896 spectators (50,000 for international matches). For the1974 FIFA World Cup, the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion (its original name) was one of the venues for the2006 FIFA World Cup, hosting five preliminary round matches, a first knockout round match (England vs.Ecuador) and the third place play-off (Germany vs.Portugal). From the 2008–09 season, the stadium was named the Mercedes-Benz-Arena, starting with a pre-season friendly against Arsenal on 30 July 2008.[25] The stadium recently went through extensive restructuring and rebuilding as it was being converted into a pure football arena. In 2011, the capacity was increased to 60,449.
The longest rivalry of VfB is the city rivalry withStuttgarter Kickers (Die Roten/Reds againstDie Blauen/Blues). However, the respective first teams of the two clubs have not played each other since Kickers were relegated to the2. Bundesliga in 1992. Thus, this derby has increasingly been overtaken in importance by the Baden-Württemberg-Derby between VfB andKarlsruher SC. In this derby, oldBadenese-Württembergian animosities are played out. The rivalry with Bavarian sideBayern Munich ("Süd-/South Derby") is mainly one-sided, as VfB fans maintain animosity towards Bayern for buying some of Stuttgart's best players and coaches in recent years, such asGiovane Élber,Felix Magath,Mario Gómez, andBenjamin Pavard.
Regional friendships exist between VfB and the SouthWürttemberg sideSSV Reutlingen 05 (the "little brother" of VfB) as well as with North WürttembergersSpVgg Ludwigsburg but also withHeidenheim. On a national level, supporters groups of VfB used to be closely connected with those ofEnergie Cottbus,1. FC Saarbrücken,Bayer Leverkusen andEintracht Frankfurt. All of these supporter group friendships have been discontinued by today or are only maintained by few supporter groups. Current ultras friendships are with the ultras of SSV Reutlingen 05 and Italian clubCesena.
In 2005, a cooperation treaty between VfB andSwiss Super League sideSt. Gallen was signed, with particular emphasis on the youth sectors of both clubs.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Joachim Löw was chosen as the head coach of VfB Stuttgart's "Centenary Eleven"
In the year 2012, for the 100th anniversary of the merger of FV Stuttgart and Kronen-Klub Cannstatt, the supporters voted forJahrhundert-Elf, the "Centenary Eleven":[28]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
^Heineken, Philipp (1930).Erinnerungen an den Cannstatter Fussball-Club [Memories of the Cannstatter Fussball-Club] (in German). Heidelberg: Verlag Hermann Meister. p. 10.
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