An era of goalkeeping with VfB Stuttgart ended on May 25, 2007. Timo Hildebrand will no longer stand between the posts for the Swabians. “I think he’ll miss us. As, of course, we will miss him too”, said Horst Held, the VfB Stuttgart manager. Timo Hildebrand, who will begin a new chapter in his goalkeeping career next season after 221 Bundesliga matches in almost eight years, remained somewhat taciturn. “I’m not yet really aware that it’s finished”, said the 28-year-old. The indisputable fact is that in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium Timo Hildebrand finished as a footballing hero. The conclusion of his career with Stuttgart was top-notch. With some fantastic performances the international goalkeeper helped VfB Stuttgart to their fifth German national title on May 19, 2007. One week later in Berlin, the Swabian club contested the DFB Cup Final. They lost 3-2 (2-2, 1-1) after extra time to 1. FC Nuremberg. But nevertheless, Timo Hildebrand could be pleased with his last match in a VfB shirt.

“I am delighted to have experienced all this -- to play two finals with VfB and to achieve one title”, said Hildebrand. One week after he had won his first national title with his team-mates by defeating Energie Cottbus 2-1, his world certainly didn’t collapse around him with the defeat by Nuremberg. “I am proud of this team. I am proud that I was allowed to play in this team”, Hildebrand disclosed. “It was a notable achievement that we managed to contain our opponents in the final with 10 players, after Cacau was sent off”. With sincerity Hildebrand congratulated Nuremberg’s goalkeeper Rafael Schaefer, who will succeed him in Stuttgart for the 2007-08 season. They know each other from earlier times with the German national youth team. “I wish Rafael all the best with VfB”, said Hildebrand.

Hildebrand experienced his last few weeks with the club he joined at the age of 16 from FV Hofheim near Worms, with some relief. Stuttgart endured a difficult start to the past season. The club lay in a lowly 15th position after the third round of matches. Questions were then asked as to whether Armin Veh was the right coach, and whether the team had the necessary talent. The Swabians rallied, however, although they initially lost 3-0 and then 4-1 to 1. FC Nuremberg after the winter break.

The VfB began their battle for the title in the second half of the season from fourth position. First they overtook defending champions Bayern Munich, then Werder Bremen and finally, in the 33rd match, Schalke 04, who had rested at the top through 13 rounds of matches. While Schalke lost 2-0 in Dortmund, Stuttgart won 3-2 in neighbouring Bochum.

Hildebrand was acknowledged as the “match winner”, for a world class save in the 86th minute to ensure victory. He smothered a shot from three metres by Christoph Dabrowski, in similar fashion to a handball goalkeeper, thus crushing Bochum’s last attempt to keep the title away from Stuttgart. Timo used his chest to stop the ball. “He is a daredevil to whom we owe our top spot”, Mario Gomez said. One week later Hildebrand collected the biggest prize of all with VfB after eight successive wins in the Bundesliga. The team was honoured by a crowd of 250,000 fans at a giant party in front of the Castle in Baden-Wurttemberg’s capital.

Timo Hildebrand was the centre of attention in Bochum, where the club had initially announced, after a win over VfL Bochum in the DFB Cup quarter-finals last December, that he would leave VfB at the end of the season. It was Timo’s wish. However, he will not disclose his new club until the end of June as part of the agreement with his future employers.

“I am taking up a new challenge, I want to increase my experience: another language, another culture, new adjustments, learn more every day”, is how Hildebrand describes his upcoming move. It is not easy for him to leave Stuttgart. “It is hard to leave”, he said. “I’m an emotional and sensitive person. I came as a 16-year-old, I matured here. Stuttgart is my second home, it will be a very emotional departure”, he explained a few days before the fifth championship title for the VfB. The wrench is understandable, the German national newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung commented, “at the end of a roller-coaster season which only reached the heights on the final run-in”.

Coach Armin Veh praised his persistent performer: “Timo has made good progress. He is a really good goalkeeper.” Hildebrand may have also improved his chances of making his mark with the German national team. The goalkeeper has certainly strengthened his claim for second place behind Jens Lehmann. This was still in question in the autumn of 2006, when he earned his fourth and fifth caps against Georgia (2-0) and Cyprus (1-1). But now national team duty has meant the championship goalie must postpone the conclusion of his season and deserved holiday, even after his last match with Stuttgart.

National coach Joachim Loew nominated him as the number two goalkeeper for the UEFA EURO 2008 ™ qualifiers against San Marino in Nuremberg (June 2) and Slovakia in Hamburg (June 6). Loew underlined that Hildebrand has every chance of becoming the first choice for the FIFA World Cup™ bronze medallists. Despite the change of club Timo Hildebrand retains a further consistency alongside his commitment to the national team. The goalkeeper remains trademark ambassador for Continental AG.