Stuttgarter Kickers Season Preview

After 3 years in Regional League South Stuttgarter Kickers are back in 3rd Bundesliga.  They collected 78 points and were 9 points better as 2nd team from Sonnenhof-Großaspach. They are deserved champion of Regional South but is the team already strong enough for 3. Bundesliga?

Review

Stuttgarter Kickers played already in 3. Bundesliga and it was Season 2008/09 where the league was started. But in this season they had huge financial problems and ended at the bottom of the table and were relegated. In their first Season after relegation in Regional South they had only some lower league players in their rows but ended on 9th place wich was not such bad with this squad. Again one year later they were disappointing first half of the season but in second they had an excellent run which took them in promotion race till the end but ended on 2nd place while SV Darmstadt celebrated the title. Many things changed and with the only aim to get promoted started Kickers the last season and they did the job with a excellent season.

The Squad

6 players left the club and 7 new players were signed by Kickers so far. With Markus Krauss they got a 3rd keeper who should fight for number 1 with Daniel Wagner till number 1 keeper Günay Güvenc gets back from injury.

Defense got Kai-Bastian Evers for Alessandro Abruscia and Thorben Stadler for Yannis Becker who left already. 22 years old Evers played already 41 matches in 3.Bundesliga and also 7 matches in 2.Bundesliga and one goal scored there.

For the midfield they sigend from Pfullendorf Sandrino Braun and Kevin Dicklhuber as well as Marcos Alvarez from Eintracht Frankfurt II. However Türpitz, Jung and Brandstetter left the club.

For more deepness in the offense came Tobias Rühle, a young player but not always an easy one.

Coach

Dirk Schuster has many options, which system he wants to let play ... 4-5-1 or 4-1-4-1 or 4-4-2 .... all possible. Also he is a hard worker and showed this some years now. He goes in his 4th season with Kickers as coach now.

Prediction

Their only aim for their comeback and first 3rd league season again ... to let 3 teams behind them and avoid relegation. It would be a difficult task but they are able because their players basis is almost the same and they should be strong enough above all their defense worked well in the past seasons and they lost only twice in 2 years. Sure this would not be happen again and they have to learn about it if they have a negative run but they are flexible enough and have the potential to go through this and also they know at least a bit which their rivals are for relegation like Unterhaching, Babelsberg, Hallescher FC and Dortmund II .... in this case they should end up at 15-17 place.