New boys raise Stuttgart sights

VfB Stuttgart sporting director Horst Heldt has had a busy few weeks. The departure of star striker Mario Gómez prompted a desperate search for a replacement and though the likes of Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Vágner Love and Milan Jovanović fell through the net, the arrivals of former Stuttgart favourite Aleksandr Hleb from FC Barcelona and Pavel Pogrebnyak from FC Zenit St. Petersburg more than made up for it.

'Inflated market'
Patience had paid off for Heldt. "The market has been inflated over the past few weeks and several clubs were asking for unrealistic amounts of money," the 39-year-old told uefa.com. "We made it very clear we weren't going to be held to ransom by ridiculous transfer fees." The unlikely capture of Hleb on a year-long loan from under the noses of FC Internazionale Milano and FC Bayern München, and the arrival of Pogrebnyak for a reported €5m, certainly represents good business. Hleb made 137 Bundesliga appearances for the club between 2000 and 2005 and his return was hailed by Heldt as one of the transfer coups of the summer. "We've brought Alex back home. He's a world-class player who is sure to help us achieve our goals," he said.

Aiming high
Stuttgart's goals are simple: to win trophies by playing entertaining football. They produced the latter with a 4-1 win against SG Grossaspach in the first round of the German Cup last Saturday which added to the feel-good factor sweeping round the Gottlieb-Daimler Stadion ahead of the Bundesliga opener against champions VfL Wolfsburg on Friday. "We want to continue with the same passion and verve with which we ended last season," said Heldt, whose side won eight of their final ten games to mount an unexpected title challenge.

Champions League desire
A third-placed finish was still enough to qualify for the UEFA Champions League play-offs and sights are now set on returning to Europe's élite club competition. "A club like VfB Stuttgart should be challenging in Europe every year, so we need to make sure we qualify for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League," said Heldt.

Pogrebnyak goals
The 2007 Bundesliga champions will be looking for Pogrebnyak's goals to get them there. The Russian international scored ten times as Zenit lifted the UEFA Cup two seasons ago and has some big shoes to fill following the departure of last season's 24-goal top scorer Gómez. Stuttgart fans will also be keeping a close eye on coach Markus Babbel, who will be dividing his time between Stuttgart and Cologne as he studies for his German Football Association coaching badge.

Challenge ahead
The 36-year-old will not be able to spend as much time on the training pitch with his team as last season, but remains relaxed about the challenges ahead. "I know Horst Heldt and [assistant manager] Jochen Schneider are doing a good job and I have a great team around me. I can rely on them 100 per cent," Babbel said. Even if Stuttgart do get off to a shaky start, Heldt is confident any weaknesses can be ironed out. "We can still add to the squad as the transfer window doesn't close until the end of August, so we still have that option," he said.