Three points to buck the trend
21.09.2012, 13:33:26 Uhr
The 50th Bundesliga season is only three match days old. Yet, there are some surprising winners (Eintracht Frankfurt) and less surprising winners (Bayern Munich) as well as surprising losers (1899 Hoffenheim) and less surprising losers (Hamburg SV). Considering their past, Stuttgart would have to fall into the latter. The club lost 1-0 to Wolfsburg and 6-1 to Bayern before drawing 0-0 against promoted side Fortuna Duesseldorf. That is not enough for a team with much higher ambitions than 16th place on the current table.
Marcelo Bordon (left) and Ailton (right) square off in the spectacular 4-4 draw in March 2004. Schaaf: "Must be stronger than Bucharest"
An advantage could be the schedule as Stuttgart played on Thursday in the Europa League against Steaua Bucharest. Labbadia had hoped to prepare his team mentally for Bremen, who did not play mid-week. "We need some confidence for the game in Bremen," said Stuttgart goalkeeper Sven Ulreich before the Bucharest game. But things didn't work out as hoped with Stuttgart playing to a 2-2 draw. "We have to make sure that we are a stronger opponent than Bucharest," Schaaf warned his team. In Sunday's game, Labbadia will not have the services of Cristian Molinaro (shoulder injury), Tim Hoogland (torn ankle ligament), Daniel Didavi (recovery training) and Vedad Ibisevic (red card suspension). Besides the injuries, there remains the curse of the first half of the season. Stuttgart's 2012-13 start is already the second worst in club history.
