VfB Stuttgart

Former Arsenal head of recruitment Sven Mislintat has signed a two-year deal with Bundesliga side Stuttgart to become their new sporting director. 

Per Jake Polden of the Mirror, Mislintat said his first priority with his new club will be to secure Bundesliga survival, before he starts the rebuild of VfB:

"It is a huge challenge and at the same time a great honor to work for a club like VfB.

"I grew up in the environment of traditional clubs, this atmosphere is very important to me.

"The talks with [president] Wolfgang Dietrich and [director of football] Thomas Hitzlsperger were extremely good and decisive for my decision for VfB.

"Our joint focus is in the coming weeks on the fight for survival, of course, the look is also already on the plans for the new season."

Stuttgart are five-time national champions and won the Bundesliga as recently as 2007, but they've fallen on hard times in the past few years. The club has struggled for consistency and were relegated in 2016 but earned promotion in the following season.

They're in a tight battle against relegation this year and find themselves in the play-off spot, four points behind Augsburg.

Mislintat is best known for his work with Borussia Dortmund, where he developed a reputation as one of the best bargain-hunters in Europe.

At BVB, he unearthed the likes of Shinji Kagawa, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ousmane Dembele. He signed Aubameyang again after he joined Arsenal, as well as the likes of Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi.

But according to Polden, Mislintat left over "alleged differences in opinion" with sporting director Raul Sanllehi, while there was also speculation Arsenal's lack of spending power played a role.

At Stuttgart he'll have a bigger role, and the opportunity to steer the sporting project likely played a role in his decision, per Bundesliga writer James Jukes.

https://twitter.com/JamesJukes2/status/1116095474551939073

While the club have struggled in recent years, Stuttgart remain among Germany's biggest, with a massive fanbase and a large membership. They also have impressive facilities, including the Mercedes-Benz Arena, which seats over 60,000.

Sportswriter Manuel Veth descirbed VfB as a "sleeping giant" when discussing the move:

Sven Mislintat is on the verge of becoming the new #VfB sporting director. Can the former #BVB and #Arsenal man reawaken a sleeping giant? For more read my latest on @ForbesSports now! https://t.co/rucrjCoSkE

— Manuel Veth (@ManuelVeth) April 10, 2019

Stuttgart are winless in their last four Bundesliga matches and would face Union Berlin in a play-off for the final Bundesliga spot if the season ended today.

The agent of Stuttgart full-back Benjamin Pavard has said his client is hopeful of "different offers" amid links to Bayern Munich and Barcelona.

Pavard has also been linked to Italian side Napoli, and his representative, Joseph Mohan, spoke to CalcioNapoli24 (h/t Football Italia) to deny speculation that talks with the Partenopei are ongoing.

Mohan also didn't rule out his client staying put for the foreseeable future, saying: "We haven't talked to anyone from Napoli yet. Will he move in June? He could also stay at Stuttgart, although we hope different offers arrive in the coming months."

The 22-year-old has been strongly linked to Bayern and had to deny persistent rumours he had already agreed to a deal with the Bavarians last summer, per L'Equipe (via Mirror's Liam Prenderville).

According to those reports, Pavard had a personal agreement with Bayern to join in the summer of 2019.

The France international rose to fame during the 2018 FIFA World Cup, starring as one of the tournament's top breakout performers.

His best moment came against Argentina, when he scored a crucial goal that was later voted as the best of the World Cup:

A product of Lille's vaunted academy, he moved to Germany in 2016 and has been a regular for Stuttgart since. While the switch to the German second division was initially seen as an odd one, Pavard's progression has been swift at Stuttgart, and he's now in a position to seal a transfer to a top club.

Les Bleus used him as a right-back in Russia, but he has the size and strength to play as a centre-back as well, having spent the bulk of his minutes there in the Bundesliga.

Stuttgart are battling relegation and would of course prefer not to lose their star defender, but they may not have a choice. The club has admitted his contract contains a release clause of €35 million that is active in 2019, per Sport Bild (h/t ESPN FC's Mark Lovell).

Here's why clubs won't hesitate to spend that amount on the World Cup winner:

The relatively small clause makes him a prime target, and Stuttgart may find it difficult to convince him to stay.

Per Calciomercato (h/t Football Italia), Bayern remain the favourites for his services, although the rumours involving Barcelona have increased of late.

Since succeeding Jens Lehmann, one of Germany's most decorated goalkeepers in the modern era, Sven Ulreich's position at Stuttgart is now untenable.

From the euphoric high of soaking in critical acclaim to the forlorn low of reconciling himself to backup status again, Ulreich's career has see-sawed like Lehmann's state of mind. 

Prior to answering a mayday call from Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, Lehmann retired on his own terms as opposed to eking out another season at Stuttgart.

"Staying would be unfair on Sven Ulreich," Lehmann said, per Bild (h/t Sky Sports). "He will be rivalling Alexander Stolz and they are both looking forward to the challenge."

Conveniently omitting a scandal-plagued season, Lehmann departing not only left Stuttgart management feeling relieved, but he handed Ulreich a vacancy to fill.

Yes, Lehmann positively impacted Ulreich indirectly by not fighting Father Time.

But that paled in comparison to an ad hoc phone call made by the late Robert Enke.

April 13, 2008.

In the aftermath of a 3-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen, Stuttgart manager Armin Veh vented his frustration at Ulreich, then a 19-year-old prospect unsure of his future as a top-flight footballer.

Instead of protecting the impressionable teenager, Veh shamed Ulreich.

Why?

Veh provided the media and fans with an explanation to disregard the potential of Ulreich in order to re-instate the veteran Raphael Schafer.

Standing in front of the television, Enke shook his head in disbelief at Veh, perhaps afflicted by distressing flashbacks of Louis van Gaal.

Finding Ulreich's number via a glove manufacturer directory, Enke—the third-best goalkeeper in Germany—called the shell-shocked teenager, per Ronald Reng's book A Life too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke:

What was important, Robert told him [Ulreich], was decisions.

[...]

He mustn't despair, even if the coach [Armin Veh] now wanted to take him off the team. 

That public criticism from Veh was really the worst. He'd [Enke had] exactly the same thing from [Van Gaal] at Barcelona.

One stupid match and he [Enke] was out of the team.

He'd gone into a very deep trough, but this was the important thing he wanted to say to Ulreich—he'd come out of it again. 

Ulreich would do the same. He had huge talent.

[...]

"I don't think there'd ever been anything like that in professional football before," Ulreich said. "A national goalkeeper spontaneously ringing an unknown 19-year-old to help him."

Gone but not forgotten. German goalkeeper Robert Enke, who committed suicide in 2009, would have been 37 today. RIP. pic.twitter.com/OKwj2T8Pg2

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) August 24, 2014

Buoyed by Enke's sage advice, that "unknown 19-year-old" took his demotion to Stuttgart II in stride and chipped away in the 3. Liga.

Three seasons later post-Veh, Ulreich ranked as the third-best goalkeeper during the 2011-12 Bundesliga campaign, per Kicker.

Ulreich was three places ahead of Marc-Andre ter Stegen, formerly of Borussia Monchengladbach, who is seen as a modern-day Oliver Kahn and later signed for Barcelona.

"He's [Ulreich has] had a fantastic year during which he proved himself not just to us but also to many critics," Stuttgart's then-sporting director Fredi Bobic said, per Stuttgart's official website. "[Ulreich's] five year agreement is a clear commitment to VfB."

82 - Stuttgart's Sven Ulreich has a save percentage of 82% - better than any other No. 1 goalkeeper in the German Bundesliga 2011/12. Wall.

— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) November 21, 2011

May 12, 2014. 

After spells at Wolfsburg, Hamburg and Eintracht Frankfurt, Veh returned to Stuttgart.

"Just the one job really tempted me," Veh said, per Deutsche Welle. "Right from the start that was VfB Stuttgart, a club I share a special relationship with." 

There is no "special relationship" between Veh and Ulreich. The mistrust was palpable during Stuttgart's 2-0 defeat to Koln.

Muttering words to himself, Veh directed a look of resignation towards Ulreich.

#Veh: "Wir haben einen Sprung gemacht, der aber auch notwendig war." Zum #vfbpk-Bericht: http://t.co/aNrmb085Eq pic.twitter.com/f4uOzIXEvV

— VfB Stuttgart (@VfB) October 1, 2014

Sure, Koln centre-forward Anthony Ujah had time to shoot.

But the shot was not adroitly directed into the bottom corner, nor was it laced with Lukas Podolski-esque power.

It was a routine shot which should have inflated Ulreich's saves statistic.

Yet he back-peddled and dived too late as Ujah's goal sneaked past. Just 11 minutes earlier, Ulreich palmed the ball straight into the path of Koln central attacking midfielder Yuya Osako, who poached a cheap goal.

Osako had a look of bewilderment—he has gone 0-4 in goals-league games played since scoring—whereas Ulreich glanced at the linesman hoping to see the flag raised, to no avail.  

From Veh's perspective, Ulreich dug his own grave by conceding six goals in the next three games.

Despite the six saves in a 2-2 draw against Borussia Dortmund, Ulreich was out of position in the two key moments of the game. 

Being drawn out, he failed to win the ball from Dortmund deep-lying forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who steered the ball into the empty net from an acute angle. 

When Dortmund left-back Marcel Schmelzer floated in a free-kick, Ulreich charged out gung-ho and was caught in no-man's-land as Dortmund centre-forward Ciro Immobile nicked a goal.

• OUT: Sven Ulreich
• IN: Thorsten Kirschbaum

#VfB have dropped GK Sven Ulreich for Thorsten Kirschbaum (cherry tree). Big call there. Veh needs points at home.

— DW Sports (@dw_sports) September 27, 2014

Poor Sven Ulreich...Stuttgart GK dropped as the no. 1 in 2008 by Armin Veh. Today, Veh, in his 2nd stint, dropped him again + Stuttgart won!

— Archie Rhind-Tutt (@archiert1) September 27, 2014

GK	Age	Height	Weight	Bundesliga Games
Sven Ulreich	26	6'4"	185 lbs	153
Thorsten Kirschbaum	27	6'6"	198 lbs	5

Six years and five months ago, Ulreich was dropped for Schafer, a seasoned pro.

Now Ulreich is being replaced by Kirschbaum, a physically imposing goalkeeper but one who lacks the experience and upside.

Who was the manager on both occasions? Veh. 

Neither can buy into each other as there is a feeling of apprehension. 

Veh may ask Ulreich: "Why can't you make saves like Roman Burki and dominate the box like Ralf Fahrmann?"

Tinged with resentment, Ulreich may respond: "You have given Kirschbaum leeway. Where was that leeway six years and five months ago?"

When Lehmann was benched by Arsenal, he came out swinging. 

"I am convinced that I will play again soon," Lehmann said, per The Guardian. "While watching matches, I cannot see that Almunia is better than me."

Replace Almunia with Kirschbaum—and fittingly, Ulreich is in a Lehmann-like situation.

While there won't be a deep and meaningful phone call from Enke, his six-years-and-five-month-old message to Ulreich still applies.

@allanjianga

+allanjiang

Statistics via WhoScored 

Have Stuttgart unearthed their version of Arjen Robben by signing Filip Kostic from Groningen?

Here is a scouting report on Kostic, a 21-year-old, 5'11", 150-pound Serbian left/right-forward.

"We had been observing Filip Kostic intensively for quite some time," Stuttgart director of sport Fredi Bobic said, per Stuttgart's official website. "He is a young, technically capable player with an eye for goal and the potential to develop further."

Kostic Positives

Leading Groningen in total dribbles (97) and dribbles per game (2.6), Kostic provides impetus going forward.

Kostic fits the profile Stuttgart are looking for in their attacking players. 

• Possesses the ability to score or create, preferably both. 
• Comfortable dribbler. 

These are attributes you find in Stuttgart players such as Alexandru Maxim, Daniel Didavi, Marco Rojas, Martin Harnik, Moritz Leitner, Timo Werner, etc. 

When you watch Kostic, his playing style is alike to Robben.

Angling in from the right, Kostic scored Robben-esque goals against Ajax and NAC Breda.

Kostic is capable of manufacturing game-changing plays. 

He marvellously volleyed the ball first-time past then-Roda (now Dordrecht) goalkeeper Filip Kurto.

Pulling off a Cristiano Ronaldo chop to evade NEC utility player Kevin Conboy, Kostic whipped the ball into the left corner.

Kostic can also finish from the left flank as evident against PSV Eindhoven and Roda.

In fact, Kostic scored more goals from the left than on the right last season, per Squawka.

Not only is Kostic a regular scorer, he is a creative outlet being second (seven) to right/centre-forward Nick van der Velden in assists (eight).

Generating a yard of separation from PSV right-back Santiago Arias, Kostic squared the ball to then-Groningen (now Ajax) centre-forward Richairo Zivkovic.

Zipping away from Sparta Rotterdam's Cambuur loanee Robert van Boxel, Kostic teed up Groningen central attacking midfielder Tjaronn Chery.

Accelerating past Go Ahead Eagles right-back Mawouna Amevor, Kostic floated in a cross for Liverpool's Groningen loanee Krisztian Adorjan.

Another beneficial facet of Kostic's game is his high motor and his proclivity to compete. 

He was a more prolific tackler than Ajax left-back Nicolai Boilesen, Feyenoord centre/left-back Terence Kongolo and then-PEC Zwolle (now Twente) defensive midfielder Kamohelo Mokotjo last season.

League Only 2013-14	Tackles Per Game	Fouls Per Game	Tackles Per Foul	Interceptions Per Game
Filip Kostic	2.2	1.5	1.5	0.5
Kamohelo Mokotjo	2.0	0.7	2.9	2.2
Nicolai Boilesen	1.2	0.6	2.0	1.0
Terence Kongolo	2.1	0.7	2.9	2.4

Kostic Negatives

There is no glaring flaw in Kostic's game. 

He is athletic, scores, creates, tackles and has immense upside. 

The only concern is if he can replicate his Eredivisie form for Stuttgart. 

Is Kostic the real deal who will thrive in Germany like Robben, Jefferson Farfan, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Roy Makaay, et al.?

Or, is Kostic a product of Eredivisie's open brand of football which heavily favours attacking players?

Recently, several Eredivisie stars have struggled transitioning to the Bundesliga:

Bas Dost (Wolfsburg): Scored more goals in one game against Excelsior for Heerenveen (five) than he did last season in the Bundesliga for Wolfsburg (four). 

You can't even say Dost is serviceable because he has fitness issues. 

Luuk de Jong (Borussia Monchengladbach): Never saw eye-to-eye with manager Lucien Favre, per Sky Sports.

Once Favre changed the formation to exclude a conventional No. 9 (he played with two deep-lying forwards in Max Kruse and Raffael), De Jong was always headed for the exits. 

After an unproductive loan stint at Newcastle United, De Jong is resuscitating his career by taking a step backwards in order to receive regular starts at PSV.

Marcus Berg (Hamburg): Looked like he would develop into a world-class goal-poacher, though he never made the step up for Hamburg. 

He peaked at Groningen and is an example of an early bloomer. 

Now playing in Greece for Panathinaikos. 

Marko Arnautovic (Werder Bremen): Flashed world-class play, but was so inconsistent on and off the field. 

Struggled with being a professional, per Werder's official website: 

SV Werder Bremen have suspended Marko Arnautovic and Eljero Elia from training and game competition with immediate effect.

Police pulled over Arnautovic at 3 am Friday morning on the A1 highway to Osnabruck for high speeding.

When Arnautovic was stopped, Elia pulled over his car as well. Alcohol was not involved in the incident.

Arnautovic is re-building his career with Stoke City. 

Eljero Elia (Hamburg): When he moved to Hamburg, his development stagnated and then he opted for an ego-boosting transfer to Juventus.

Looked great on his CV, but it hindered his development. 

He is making incremental improvements at Werder.

Bottom Line

Stuttgart manager Armin Veh talked about the "very good personal impression" Kostic made.

Veh could be making a reference to Kostic's confidence to succeed.

He did once say Groningen were "80 percent" through against Aberdeen in a two-legged Europa League match-up, per Ben Holme at the Evening Express.

Prior to riding high, Kostic endured hardship.  

Two seasons ago, David Texeira—a rumoured Liverpool transfer target—was a bigger prospect than Kostic, who experienced growing pains, per Michiel Jongsma at BeNeFoot: 

Kostic, brought in at 19 years of age, came to the club as a rough diamond and, in his first year, never lived up to the hype that had surrounded him.

[...]

Rumours came out about the player being not motivated and having trouble keeping his weight in check.

An investment of FC Groningen of €1 million/£800K was deemed redundant within 12 months.

Jongsma likened Kostic's will to Luis Suarez, who also reached a crossroads during his Groningen career, per Duncan White at The Telegraph:

Having been given a three-week holiday, he [Suarez] turned up at Groningen, in [then Groningen manager Ron] Jans' words, "a little heavy."

He [Suarez] was promptly put in the reserves to get fit.

"He was a real character," Jans said. "He hated it when he found out he was going to have to play in the second team."

There was one training session when he was doing nothing.

I brought the whole group together and said to Suarez in front of them: "You promised 100 percent and you are doing nothing and playing like [expletive]."

Like Suarez, Kostic summoned his inner strength to bounce back from adversity.

In comparison, Texeira lacked the belief to get himself out of a rut at Groningen.

Texeira is now playing for FC Dallas in Major League Soccer.

Kostic plays like Robben and has the self-belief of Suarez.

If Kostic succeeds at Stuttgart, he will be in line for a big-money move to a major European club.

@allanjianga

+allanjiang

Statistics via WhoScored 

VfB Stuttgart completed the signing of centre-forward Daniel Ginczek from FC Nurnberg, per Stuttgart's official website, so can he succeed in the Bundesliga next season? To address that question, here is a scouting report on Ginczek, a 23-year-old German footballer. 

Positives

Ginczek is a 6'3", 190-pound No. 9 with untapped potential.

"Daniel's a rangy, pacey, bustling striker with a proven nose for goal," Stuttgart sporting director Fredi Bobic said, per Bundesliga.com. "[Ginczek has] all the attributes we're looking for."

Bobic's description was encapsulated by Ginczek's goal against Hoffenheim.

He took then-Nurnberg (now Bayer Leverkusen) right-forward Josip Drmic's pass, outmuscled Hoffenheim centre-back David Abraham and guided the ball into the bottom corner. 

It was a routine pass from Drmic which turned into an assist.

This demonstrates Ginczek can make game-changing plays, which was on show when he sliced through Wolfsburg's defence with a mazy dribble. 

Ginczek averaged more dribbles per game (2.1) than Borussia Dortmund right attacking midfielder Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (0.6). 

Ginczek is a counter-attacking threat, as was the case when he raced in behind Hoffenheim's defence and placed the ball past Hoffenheim goalkeeper Koen Casteels.

Negatives

Ginczek is physically athletic, but his body could not cope with his dynamic playing style last season. 

"Up until my injury I had a great time in Nuremberg," Ginczek said, per Stuttgart's official website. "But I really wanted to continue playing in the Bundesliga [Nurnberg suffered relegation]."

Ginczek missed 50 percent of the Bundesliga season primarily due to a torn cruciate ligament in his right knee, per Bundesliga.com.

While Ginczek was a constant threat, his finishing consistently deprived his teammate Hiroshi Kiyotake of potential assists.

Ginczek failed to convert 90.3 percent of goalscoring opportunities, per Squawka.com, and only scored three times in 17 league games. 

Bottom Line

Ginczek is lost in the shuffle because of the Bundesliga talent factory.

Elite footballers such as Andre Hahn and Kevin Volland cannot even make the German national team's 2014 FIFA World Cup squad, so why would anyone pay attention to Ginczek? 

Keep in mind, he was Nurnberg's go-to guy before Drmic ascended to become one of the Bundesliga's best players.

Ginczek is big, quick, has a cannon-like shot and was denied several times by the woodwork. 

• He would have scored a deflected goal against Hoffenheim if not for the post. 
• His header went past Hertha Berlin goalkeeper Thomas Kraft, who was bailed out by the post. 
• Kraft's far-post saved him when Ginczek hit a powerful low-drive.  
• Ginczek's searing shot careened off the crossbar against Bayern Munich.

Stuttgart have taken calculated gambles in the past. 

Is it a red flag that Ginczek failed to make an impression at Borussia Dortmund earlier in his career? Yes.

But Giovane Elber did not make the grade at AC Milan.

Elber had back-to-back Bundesliga seasons of 15 goals or more during the 1995-96 and 1996-97 campaigns for Stuttgart. 

Cacau's career drastically improved after he moved from Nurnberg to Stuttgart, and it can be the same with Ginczek. 

If Ginczek can stay fit, he could be a breakout Bundesliga star next season. 

@allanjianga

+allanjiang

Statistics via WhoScored.com

One win in seven Bundesliga matches. The joint-worst defensive record in Germany. Just two goals scored in four home games. This is Stuttgart.

With seven domestic games passed, Bruno Labbadia’s side stand 15th in the table. Out of 12 competitive fixtures overall, they’ve won just three: Their victims include Nuernberg, a Dinamo Moscow side in danger of being relegated from the Russian Premier League, and sixth-division German side Falkensee-Finkenkrug.

Struggling in the first half of a season is by no means a foreign concept for Stuttgart, which in three of the last four seasons has entered the winter break in the lower half of the table.

Its record suggests an upward turn is inevitable, sooner or later: The Swabians are historically strong finishers, and since winning the Bundesliga title in 2007 have ended each season in higher standing than their midseason position.

However, regardless of how longstanding it may be, Stuttgart’s trend of second-round success should not be taken as a given. The cold truth is that its investments and transfer dealings have been dangerous at best, if not suicidal.

Instead of riding the momentum that came from their title run, the club’s board opted again and again to sell their best players to finance an expansive stadium renovation. One day, the decision could spell disaster.

Mario Gomez, Sami Khedira, Christian Traesch, Bernd Leno, Sebastian Rudy, Julian Schieber, Andreas Beck, Christian Gentner... in recent years, Stuttgart have sold nearly a full first team of quality players. Their replacements have been mediocre at best, as in the last five seasons the Swabians have sold for more value than they purchased.

The net transfer funds of €36.4 million have gone towards a €63.5m bill for stadium improvement. Ironically, expansion of the Mercedes-Benz Arena has been of no benefit to the club’s sporting results and has only allowed more fans to see firsthand just how poor their team is: In all competitions, Stuttgart have won just one home game.

Stuttgart's Transfers Since 2008
Year	Net Sales
2012-13 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09	€6.2m €6.3m €7.5m €12.9m €3.5m
Source: Transfermarkt

The practice of selling stars and replacing them with lesser players has caused significant trouble for a number of Bundesliga clubs in recent years, with the likes of Hertha BSC and Frankfurt paying a hefty price in the form of relegation.

Stuttgart fans can rest assured that their club will, in all likelihood, avoid the drop. Unlike Fuerth and Augsburg, the Swabians have real class in their squad. And with more German youth internationals in their ranks than any other club, their future is secure.

However, by swapping quality players for stadium renovation, the club nipped their progress in the bud and gained a reputation for selling again and again.

Stuttgart is not a destination for big-name players, and their youth graduates will not have the same loyalty as those from Bayern, Dortmund, and Schalke. With a revolving door of players and trainers, the club lack a clear ethos.

Following their Bundesliga title in 2007, Stuttgart is no more than a stepping stone for players. For the foreseeable future, their Champions League days are over. A pity, they could have been so much more.

Is Jens Lehmann a kleptomaniac, a raving loon, both, or neither?

Last week i brought you footage from Stuttgart’s UEFA Cup match at Zenit St. Petersburg showing the 39-year-old keeper losing the plot with his teammate, Khalid Boulahrouz.

Lehmann ripped off the defender’s headband and threw it angrily behind his goal after the Dutch defender messed up a header. (Read here.)

And just three days later, Lehmanns’ thieving was once again on full view. Mad Jens stole Hoffenheim’s Sejad Salihovic’s boot after it fell off the forward’s foot with two minutes to go in their thrilling six-goal encounter.

The footage of this incident starts with the camera focused on Salihovic, shoulders shrugged, as he told to the referee that he had no idea where his boot had disappeared to.

After the TV editor then showed how the boot fell off in the first place, the shot caught up with the referee ordering a one-booted Salihovic off the field of play as he failed to have the correct uniform. Miffed, Salihovic did as he was told.

All this time, Mad Jens (who was later outed as the perpetrator of the theft) was seen coolly barking orders at his defense who were readying themselves to face a Hoffenheim set-play. This was so Salihovic could find his misplaced boot on the roof of Lehmann’s net where he quickly slipped it on and got on with the match.

Sadly we are missing the complete footage capturing Lehmann’s theft red-handed, but the event was confirmed by a comment on Bleacher Report by the name of “101er Wouter.” 1

01er Wouter wrote, “Some Hoffenheim guy looses a boot, Lehmann goes all the way out to get it, and tosses it away, on top of his on goal! Took ages for the Hoffenheim player to find the boot. Lehmann is such a nutter, but what else is new!”

The footage of the incident can be seen here.

VfB Stuttgart were winners of the Bundesliga in the 2006-07 season when Bremen, Schalke, and Bayern were just unable to win. A very young side led by Thomas Hitzlsperger, "Super Mario" Gomez, and Timo Hildebrand snatched the title at the last day of the season from Schalke’s jaws and showed the world that Bayern or Bremen don’t always have to win the Bundesliga.

Bayern have won the Bundesliga 21 times and they would love to do it again. Jurgen Klinsmann’s men would love a miracle to see them through to the top of the table again from their current 11th.

Stuttgart at the moment are in a form which can’t be called poor, but it can’t be called excellent either. They thrashed Werder 4-1 with a scintillating display, only to be beaten by Hertha 2-1 the following week.

Bayern, on the other hand, had no fairytale at any part of the season. However, a league win over Karlsruhe (Miroslav Klose 86’) as well as a Champions League win over Fiorentina (Miro Klose 4’, Schweini 22’, Ze Roberto 90’) shows that a fairy tale run of straight wins might just be starting.

If so, after the Wolfsburg game, the next victims of the Bayern players’ newly gained confidence might be Stuttgart.

Stuttgart are not a worldclass side but they have shown that they can easily overturn a worldclass side such as Bremen or Bayern.

So who’s going to progress to the DFB Quarters? The strong Bayern or the minnows Stuttgart?

Line ups:

Bayern Munich: Michael Rensing - Massimo Oddo, Martin Demichellis, Lucio, Breno - Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mark van Bommel, Ze Roberto, Franck Ribery - Luca Toni, Miroslav Klose

VfB Stuttgart: Lehmann – Trasch, Tasci, Delpierre, Magnin – Hilbert, Hitzlsperger, Pardo, Boka – Gomez, Caucau

Prediction: Bayern should be too strong for the minnows and should win convincingly. Due to Stuttgart’s home advantage, however, this one might turn out to be a pretty competitive game.  Final score: Stuttgart 1 Bayern 2.

After watching Arsenal's young Gunners manhandle Stuttgart today, I am heading down to my nearest betting office and putting money on the Arsenal, right now, to win this year’s Carling Cup.

There’s always lots of talk about the talented youth at Arsenal, but that youth is a little older, a lot more talented, and ready to start going some serious damage at a high level.

They took on a nearly full strength Stuttgart side that won this year's Intertoto Cup on Sunday, and beat them 3-1 with goals in the second half from Carlos Vela, Nicklas Bendtner and 16 year old Jack Wilshere (a player so new to Arsenal's reserves that he doesn't even have a picture on their official website).

Sure it's pre-season, but for a crew of youngsters to take on a crew of internationals and dominate them is impressive whenever it happens. But I digress.

In last season's Carling Cup the young Gunners made it to the semis where they were famously dismantled by their North London rivals, Tottenham. Spurs went on to win the whole thing, but if recent action by Arsenal's youth is any indication of things to come 2009 will not see a repeat of 2008.

Just consider Arsenal’s probable Carling Cup starting XI: Lukasz Fabianski, Armand Traore, Philippe Senderos, Johan Djourou, Justin Hoyte, Jack Wilshere, Alexandre Song, Aaron Ramsey, Mark Randall, Carlos Vela and Nicklas Bendtner.

There are a few players in that group who will be semi-regular in the Arsenal first team, but most of the side are subs and reserves. Yet it’s still a side that any of the teams just promoted to the Premier League would love to boast.

Now consider the subs Arsene Wenger will likely draw upon: Vito Mannone, Tomas Rosicky, Eduardo da Silva, Gavin Hoyte, Theo Walcott, Nacer Barizite, Amauray Bischoff.

Not a bad bench.

This is all speculation of course, but it is an educated guess built on Wenger’s consistent use of the Carling Cup to both rehabilitate injured players and blood his youth. This season that policy will likely bear fruit.

Arsenal’s young Gunners can do impressive things, and winning the Carling Cup is absolutely within their grasp.

Watch for Vela and Bendtner to dominate the scoring, Ramsay, Wilshire and Song to dominate every midfield they face, and Arsenal’s baby defense to finally show signs of real strength.

Who cares about the Carling Cup?

Well, most Premier League fans don’t care about the Carling Cup, but their clubs give them no reason to care.

Some may think the same can be said about Arsenal, but that’s not the case.

Youth is so important to everything Arsenal does, that every true Gunner knows and loves the young players nearly as well as they know and love the first team regulars.

The Carling Cup is as important to Arsenal as it is to any team in the Coca Cola Championship and beyond.

The Arsenal want to win. Their players want to win. And this year I am betting nothing will stop that from happening.