When Deutsche Welle last spoke with Bruno Labbadia seven months ago, he had just taken over a Stuttgart side mired in the doldrums and acutely threatened with relegation.

But the former striker nicknamed Big Bruno guided the Southern Germans to safety. Stuttgart didn't often play pretty, but they got the job done. So did Labbadia enjoy his first relegation battle?

Quite a lot, it seems.

"Strangely enough, I found it both a burden and a source of satisfaction that I have rarely experienced in my life," Labbadia admitted to Deutsche Welle. "I never wanted to be in a relegation fight because I knew what it meant. In retrospect, I know now why [it's so hard]. But I can also say that in retrospect I wouldn't have missed it for the world."

As a player, Labbadia was accustomed to winning, and as a coach in his previous three engagements, Greuther Fürth, Leverkusen and Hamburg, he worked for clubs with lofty ambitions in their respective ambitions.

But despite some successes, he didn't last at any of those clubs. Rumors swirled of personal issues with players, Labbadia often came across as vain and arrogant, and after bright starts, he either left or got the sack before he had even reached his second season in charge.

At Stuttgart, he seems a changed man. That may be because he's working for an employer whose sights are set a bit lower.

Different coach, different team

Stuttgart are, of course, one of Germany's biggest and most successful clubs - a five-time German champion and winner of three German Cups.

But the experience of coming dangerously close to division two convinced club management that it was time to return to the basics, even at the cost of postponing a drive for further silverware.

"A team that wants to succeed needs to have exceptional players," Labbadia said. "Often those players have a flaw, but that's what makes them exceptional. But we need to have a team that works well first, and that's what we're trying to build at the moment."

One of the first victims of that new philosophy was temperamental striker Ciprian Marica, whose contract was terminated by mutual consent.

"Marica has a lot of talent, but he simply didn't want to apply it in the way we needed," Labbadia said. "It just wasn't a good fit. We've looked for players who suit our style of football but who above all fit in with regard to personality."

Stuttgart's biggest summer signing was low-key Danish all-rounder William Kvist. Their record after three rounds this year - one win, one draw, one loss - is the definition of the middle-of-the-round solidity, but compared with last season, when Stuttgart had zero points, it's a respectable start.

Sticking to the basics and the club's strengths, that's the new watchword. With one of Germany's top youth programs, Stuttgart are regularly a top-half club. They get into trouble when they overreach in transitional periods.

The Southern Germans are trying to change that, just as their coach is trying to smooth out some of the mercurial ups and downs that have characterized his own career.

Learning from the enemy

Labbadia's playing career from 1984 to 2003 was unusually long and, with German Cups and championships, unusually successful. But he never stuck around anywhere for long, plying his trade for eight clubs.

His time at Stuttgart has been remarkably harmonious, despite the fact that the club's sporting director Fredi Bobic is a former opponent and another famously prickly character.

And although normally a proponent of attacking football, the former striker Labbadia has learned how to adjust his game plan to get results. That was evident in Stuttgart's 2-1 victory over high-flying Hanover in the penultimate round of last season, which ensured the Southern Germans stayed up.

"Look at Hanover," Labbadia said. "They do direct, counter-attacking soccer very, very well and had a great season. But we beat them at their own game. We let them come at us and were patient. And we knew they'd have problems with our counterattacks. That's how we beat them."

Stuttgart looked listless and uninspired in their 1-0 loss on Saturday to Leverkusen, but Labbadia assured reporters that the setback would not break his team's stride.

Whether or not, Stuttgart can play consistent football is an open question at the moment. But one thing is sure: Labbadia will be sticking around a while to see how things there pan out.

Bruno Labbadia was interviewed by Kamilla Jarzina for Bundesliga Kick Off. The program airs on Monday and Tuesday.

Author: Jefferson Chase
Editor: Matt Hermann