For more than ten years, the team from Stuttgart did not take first place in the German championship. Not just at the end of the season - for one day, for one hour. The last time this happened during the time of the magic triangle Elber - Bobich - Balakov.
Balakov is already training. Elber this week announced the end of his football career. Bobich, the smallest of them, is about to give his consent to take an administrative post in Hanover. Is it not true that this is characteristic and even symbolic? Felix Magath also had a good team three years ago. But she did not rise in the table above second place. And on November 12, 2006 this happened. But already on the sixth day, Stuttgart lost its leadership. And he was taken away from the team by none other than Magat - the head coach of Bayern Munich.
At the beginning of the season, the Stuttgart coach Armin Fe went to the favorites of the bookmaker. It was believed that it was he who would be honored to cut the ribbon at the opening of the retirees club. No one understood why Stuttgart had such a coach: the Hansa, Reutlingen and Greuther Fürth were on the track record of Fe, and the last place he worked was Augsburg. Moreover, Fe’s inheritance was not rich. In just two years, Matthias Zammer and Giovanni Trapattoni were forced to forget about Felix Magath. The complete impression was that he was simply not in the club - Fe accepted Stuttgart in about the same form as Iron Felix: in ruins. All the more surprising is the metamorphosis of this season - after a nightmare start a series of victories followed.
However, no miracle happened - this season, none of the German teams can boast of a stable game. That’s why the ordinary series lifted Stuttgart so high. It is much more important that for the first time in two years, the team loomed a handwriting, a face appeared. In "Stuttgart" a real parade of discoveries. The main roles in the team are played by immigrants from the second, and even third, squads. Starting failures and injuries forced Fe to bet on young students of the club. And so they made the whole of Germany talk about Stuttgart.
Fans learned new names: Khedira, Taschi, Gentner and, of course, Gomez. 21-year-old striker Mario Gomez was the main discovery of the season. He has already scored 8 goals in the championship and shares leadership in the scorers' dispute with Marco Pantelicz from Hertha.
It was Gomez who put Stuttgart ahead in the 8th minute of the match in Munich, and Bayern had to recoup.
Many expected that the champions simply put the upstart in place, and did so in the Bavarian style - quickly and painfully. As a result, Magat’s team won, but the match was far from flogging. It was a real meeting of the season leaders.
Here is perhaps the main result of this match: Stuttgart deserves its position. Of course, the team lacked experience, and Bayern perfectly took advantage of the flaws of the green opponent. Having missed the opening, the Munich team managed to impose their will on their opponents and scored twice in the first half. But it wasn’t a game at half-past, as with Bayer last round, when Bayern showed the opponent who is who in ten minutes. This time the champion played almost to the limit. At least for a long time I did not have to see such speeds and concentrations among the Munichers. To win, Bayern needed to show not just good, but excellent football.
Even the goals scored in this match say a lot. Goal Roy Makai was the result of a mounted transfer, which Philip Lam performed left - a rare case in his game. And the second goal was made by Mark van Bommel, who slipped on the right flank, like a sapper on minefields. And the ball of Gomez was also a miracle how good: the lightning attack of “Stuttgart”, the whole field was passed in three passes, and the striker hit the exact shot into the far corner. In all this there was quality, there was style.
It is clear and obvious that Stuttgart is still a raw team and it is hard for him to compete with Bayern, Werder Bremen and Schalke. There is a serious danger of dizziness from success - young players can break psychologically. However, it is already visible today that the potential of the players gathered in the club and the potential of the whole team are very high.
Only returns to the captain Fernando Meira - a world-class quarterback. Did not go against Bayern because of disqualification Thomas Hitzlsperger, who scored 4 goals in his last 5 matches. Wonderful striker Jon Dahl Tomasson is injured. Now it is very difficult to draw conclusions or make any forecasts. But one thing is clear: another interesting team appeared in the German championship. After all, where else can you look at two Mexicans at once?
Kirill DEMENTYEV
BAVARIA - STUTTGART - 2: 1 (2: 1)
Goals: 0: 1 - Gomez (8), 1: 1 - Makaay (27), 2: 1 - Pizarro (36).
Bavaria: Kahn, Lam, Sagnol, van Beiten, Demichelis, Ottl, Salihamijic, Schweinsteiger (Lel, 72), van Bommel, Mackay (Daisler, 90), Pizarro (Santa Cruz, 89).
Stuttgart: Hildebrand, Boca, Delpierre, Tasci, da Silva (Streller, 79), Gentner (Meira, 54), Hilbert, Khedira (Birofka, 62), Pardo, Cacau, Gomez.
Warnings: Pardo (58), Cacau (80), van Bommel (82).
November 18th. Alliance Arena, 17.30.
Judge: Michael Weiner (Giesen).