Babbel reportedly out as VfB Stuttgart crisis deepens (1st Lead)

By John Bagratuni Dec 6, 2009, 11:56 GMT

   Hamburg - Markus Babbel's reign as VfB Stuttgart reportedly ended on Sunday after another winless Bundesliga performance and increasing fan frustration the previous day.

The websites of German papers Bild and Sport Bild said that Babbel was sacked in the wake of a 1-1 draw at home against VfL Bochum.

Stuttgart did not want to confirm the reports but announced a news conference set for later Sunday.

   On Saturday, angry fans first blocked the team bus entry to the stadium ahead of the Bochum game and then tried to storm the club house after the outcome left Stuttgart stranded in the drop zone.

   Police used batons and pepper spray to stop the fan attack on the club house and to disperse hundreds of them. Police said early Sunday that two officers were injured and three people arrested.

   The winless run of eight league matches since a 3-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt on September 26 brought the atmosphere to boiling point.

   It also didn't help Babbel that Stuttgart can reach the Champions League knockout stages with a victory against Romania's Unirea Urziceni on Wednesday.

   Stuttgart came third in the Bundesliga last season but like the fourth-placed finishers Hertha Berlin (who are faring even worse at the bottom of the table) are now going through a nightmare season.

   Stuttgart have won just twice in 15 Bundesliga games. They seemed on course to breaking the negative trend on Saturday, but Bochum then got an 88th-minute equalizer despite being down to 10 men.

   'The game was a reflection of our negative run,' said defender Ludowig Magnin.

   The Bild daily said on its website Sunday that Babbel was summoned to meetings with the club leadership twice after the game. The reports of the sacking then came on Sunday.

   Babbel named the latest setback 'extremely bitter' but also blamed the fans for the lack of confidence in the team.

   'It was a very difficult game. The atmosphere in the arena (where the die-hards turned their back on the pitch in the opening minutes) only added to the insecurity which the team could not shake off,' Babbel said.

   Club boss Dieter Hundt backed Babbel in mid-week but has also said that the club board was divided over the 37-year-old helmsman.

   Babbel tried to create a turnaround by announcing rigid training and by making Matthieu Delpierre team captain because it was too much of a burden for Germany midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger.

   However, Babbel never found his ideal starting 11 and has changed team tactics on several occasions.

   Stuttgart badly miss striker striker Mario Gomez who left for Bayern Munich in summer. In addition, neither returning Alexander Hleb of Belarus nor Russian striker Pavel Pogrebnyak have so far fulfilled the expectations.

   Injuries concerning Hitzlsperger and Zdravko Kuzmanovic further added to the woes on Saturday.