The southern showdown between VfB Stuttgart and FC Bayern on Saturday evening (18:30 CET) is a true classic fixture in the Bundesliga. Alongside 107 meetings in the league (67 wins for FCB, 22 draws), 18 defeats), the two teams are also linked by numerous players who lined up for both the Bavarians and the Swabians, including Sven Ulreich, Benjamin Pavard, Joshua Kimmich and Serge Gnabry from the current Bayern squad. Ahead of the upcoming encounter, fcbayern.com has put together a combined XI of former players who played for both clubs.
Sven Ulreich
Well over 30 players have worn the shirts of both Bayern and Stuttgart in the past, but there’s only one goalkeeper on the list. Sven Ulreich, who was born in the town of Schorndorfer near Stuttgart, joined the five-time German champions’ academy in 1998 and made his way through the U23s and into the first team. After around 17 years and 220 competitive matches, “Ulle” moved to the Bavarian state capital in 2015, where he’s been – aside from a one-year stint at Hamburger SV – ever since.
Bernd Förster
At left-back, there’s no looking past Bernd Förster. The 33-time German international from Mosbach in Baden-Württemberg joined Bayern from Waldhof Mannheim in 1974. Although he only made 11 appearances in just under two years, the 1980 European Championship winner celebrated two European Cup triumphs with the Munich men in 1975 and 1976. After two seasons with 1. FC Saarbrücken (1976-1978), the defender ended up at Stuttgart, where he added the 1984 German league title to his collection.
Holger Badstuber
Holger Badstuber moved to the Stuttgart youth setup from his hometown club, TSV Rot an der Rot, at the age of 11. The versatile defender spent two years with the Swabians before arriving in Munich. Despite many injury problems, Badstuber developed into one of the best centre-backs in Europe during his time with Bayern, winning the treble in 2013 among other things. In 2017, the former German international returned to VfB, where he played for four more years.
Markus Babbel
The centre of defence in this Bavarian-Swabian team is completed by Markus Babbel. The Munich native joined the German record champions as a youngster in 1981 and stayed there until 2000, other than a two-year loan at HSV (1992-94). After a spell in England with Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers, the Euro 96 winner returned to Germany at the tail end of his career. Babbel, who represented Germany 51 times, made 63 appearances in all competitions for VfB from 2004 to 2007, crowning his career with his fourth and final Bundesliga title in 2007.
Philipp Lahm
In Philipp Lahm, another Munich boy wore the red of both Bayern and Stuttgart. Having already established himself in the Bayern reserves squad by the age of 18, his then coach Hermann Gerland sent him to Stuttgart under Felix Magath. However, Lahm was intended more as a left-back than a right-back at VfB, so before his move in 2003, the then U21 international worked on his weaker left foot for weeks so that his conversion from the right to the left of defence was a success. He experienced two formative years with the jungen Wilden (wild youth) before returning to Munich for the 2005/06 season, where the World Cup-winning captain stayed until the end of his career.
Dieter Brenninger
Dieter “Mucki” Brenninger is an automatic pick in midfield for the Bavarian-Swabian XI. Born in Altenerding, Bavaria on 16 February 1944, he signed for Munich in 1962. As a key player, crossing master and ideal foil for Gerd Müller, Brenninger – who was given the nickname “Mucki” by his former coach Zlatko “Tschik” Čajkovski – played a significant role in Bayern’s promotion to the Bundesliga in 1965. After nine hugely successful seasons with one league championship, four DFB Cups and the triumph in the European Cup Winners’ Cup, Brenninger moved, via a stop at Young Boys Bern, to Stuttgart, where he spent four years (1972-1976).
Ludwig Kögl
One man who has to be included in any combined XI is Ludig “Wiggerl” Kögl. He won six German championships (five with Bayern, one with Stuttgart) in 11 and a half years in total with FCB and VfB, although things could’ve turned out very differently. “Wiggerl” began his career with Munich rivals 1860. However, after missing out on promotion to the Bundesliga in 1984, he moved to Säbener Straße after just one season, where Kögl quickly became a crowd favourite. After six thoroughly successful seasons, the Bavarian, who was mostly deployed on the left of midfield, joined Stuttgart, where he occupied the flanks until early 1996.
Thomas Strunz
“Was erlauben Strunz?” (“What allows Strunz?”) To this day that sentence from Giovanni Trapattoni’s legendary rant has cult status. There’s also a place for the former midfielder in the Bavarian-Swabian selection. In fact, the Duisburg native played twice for Bayern, first from 1989 to 1992 before the Euro 96 winner went to Stuttgart for three years. In 1995, Strunz returned to the record champions until his retirement in 2001.
Dieter Hoeneß
The attacking trio starts with Dieter Hoeneß. After the brawny centre-forward shot VfB Stuttgart out of the second-tier Bundesliga South and into the German top flight during his four years in Ländle (1976/77 season), his brother Uli, who was one year older, signed him up for the German record champions in 1979. Although it was one of the first transfers for the young general manager Hoeneß, the world and European champion proved already then that he had a golden touch as his brother Dieter fired the Reds to the German championship in his first season with 16 goals. In his eight years at FCB, Dieter Hoeneß collected a total of five Bundesliga titles and three DFB Cups.
Jürgen Klinsmann
Jürgen Klinsmann also plied his trade for both sides. The Swabian played for Stuttgart from 1984 to 1989, and following stints with Inter Milan, AS Monaco and Tottenham Hotspur, he ended up in Munich. The World Cup and Euro winner went down in club history not just because of his famous barrel kick, but also as a prolific goalscorer. As well as a Bundesliga title, the striker also celebrated his second UEFA Cup success with Bayern, scoring an incredible 15 goals in 12 games on the way, which made him the record goalscorer in the competition (before it became the UEFA Europa league).
Giovane Élber
Bayern ambassador Giovane Élber also gets the nod in attack. Before the ‘Samba striker’ signed for the German record champions, he donned the VfB jersey for three seasons. Together with Fredi Bobic and Krassimir Balakov, Élber formed a fearsome front three who fired Stuttgart to DFB Cup glory in 1997. Lots more success followed at Bayern, where the crowd favourite enjoyed six extraordinary years, topped off by the 2001 Champions League win along with four league titles and three cup successes.
The facts on the upcoming clash with Stuttgart:
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