Young Stuttgart shock German elite

Stuttgart started the season as the youngest squad in the league, but ended as champions under the guidance of Armin Veh, who had replaced Giovanni Trapattoni during the previous campaign.

Having won back-to-back doubles at Bayern Munich, Felix Magath found his third season more challenging, and was sacked at the end of January to be succeeded by the man he replaced three years earlier: Ottmar Hitzfeld.

Bayern ended up finishing fourth, their worst position since 1994.

Borussia Monchengladbach had a terrible season, finishing 11 points from safety, while Alemannia Aachen and Jurgen Klopp’s Mainz also went down.

CHANGES

Jupp Heynckes was appointed head coach of Borussia Monchengladbach before the start of the 2006-07 season, but was sacked by January as the Fohlenelf struggled. Dutchman Jos Luhukay came in to replace him, but could not save the side from relegation.

Bayern Munich coach Felix Magath spent big to acquire Cologne forward Lukas Podolski, but the youngster did not live up to his €10 million billing, scoring just four goals in his maiden season in Munich. A combined €14m was spent on Daniel van Buyten and Marc van Bommel, with both players in their late 20s, and Magath hoping to add experience. However, inconsistent performances in the league and a third round exit from the cup meant Magath did not last the season, and was replaced by Hitzfeld.

Werder Bremen invested well, signing Portuguese midfielder Diego for €6m and Hannover defender Per Mertesacker for €4.7m as Nelson Valdes left for Borussia Dortmund for a fee of €4.7m.

Hamburg’s big signing was Belgian defender Vincent Kompany, who arrived for €10.5m from Anderlecht and replaced Khalid Boulharouz who was sold to Chelsea for €13.2m. Striker Ivica Olic also arrived in the Bundesliga, moving from CSKA Moscow.

Sebastian Diessling moved from Nurnberg to Bayer Leverkusen due to the exit of Dimitar Berbatov, with the Bulgarian joining Tottenham for €15.7m after six seasons in the…

Source link : https://www.footballcritic.com/season-reviews/young-stuttgart-shock-german-elite-bundesliga-in-2006-07/126

Author : [email protected] (Martin Macdonald)

Publish date : 2024-07-27 14:00:00

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