Stuttgart's policy

[Del Juve 1]

STUTTGART sports director Horst Heldt has learned to be patient in his job. He almost sacked Armin Veh as coach after the first match of last season, but gave him one more game to prove himself. Stuttgart duly beat Bielefeld, and steadily moved up the table before winning the last eight games of the season to clinch the Bundesliga title on a dramatic last day.

So the fact that Stuttgart have started this season slowly, winning once and losing their first two away matches, has not worried Heldt unduly. He spent his summer preparing for the European season by holding on to his crop of young players as well as strengthening the squad with new stars. The pick of the bunch that Heldt retained is last season's top-scorer Mario Gomez, German Footballer of the Year for 2007.

With three goals in his first three Germany appearances, he is seen as the nation's latest great hope, after Lukas Podolski failed to deliver. No-one doubts his dedication to his local club: when he damaged knee ligaments last season, he was so annoyed that he punched the club doctor's first-aid box and broke a bone in his hand. Veh used his squad intelligently, and when Gomez was missing for eight weeks, Brazilian Cacau stepped in and scored five goals.

Two other youth team graduates will play major roles against Rangers in their Champions League Group E opener on Wednesday night: 20-year-old Serdar Tasci, a centre-back who was called up to Germany's squad for the England friendly in August, and 20-year-old midfielder Sami Khedira, who scored the title-winning goal against Energie Cottbus.

Khedira started last season in the amateur squad, and made his debut in October before he had signed a professional contract. He was also named for the Germany squad for the England friendly, but pulled out with an injured ankle. He is still pinching himself about his rise to prominence, but insists that his feet are still on the ground.

"My family is a big help to me. My father is my fiercest critic. I very rarely get praised by him, and that is not always easy, but it does take me forward, it does improve me. When I have done nine out of ten things well, then the only thing I hear about is what I didn't get right."

Veh has won praise for his faith in the young guns, which has continued the Stuttgart tradition of giving youth a chance. The last time the club played in the Champions League, in 2003, the team was built around Alexander Hleb, then 22, Andreas Hinkel, 21, and Philipp Lahm, 19.

"Veh is not afraid to give young, hungry players a chance in the first team, and that is exactly what club football should be about," said former Germany and Scotland coach Berti Vogts. "He has proved that you can be successful that way, and he must get immense credit for that. He is an example for the whole Bundesliga."

Though Stuttgart were the youngest team to win the Bundesliga, experience is provided by the captain, uncompromising centre-back Fernando Meira, and former Aston Villa midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger, who established himself as a Germany regular with inspirational performances and seven goals, most from distance.

Hitzlsperger was realistic about Stuttgart's chances in a group containing Barcelona and Lyon, as well as Rangers. "They are all extremely good teams, but that is to be expected in the Champions League," said the player nicknamed "The Hammer". "We will have to play at our absolute maximum in every game. But we won't be overawed ... We will be positive from the start, and for me to go back to the UK is fantastic. I can't wait."