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VfB Stuttgart appoint Indian origin Robin Dutt as new Sporting Director

Robin Dutt

German Bundesliga sides VfB Stuttgart have appointed Indian origin Robin Dutt as the club’s new Sporting Director.

The 49 year old was officially presented to the public at a press conference today. He replaces former Germany international Fredi Bobic who was sacked from the post in September 2014. Dutt has signed a contract keeping him at the club untill December 2018.

Dutt has worked as a coach at various clubs including Bundesliga outfits SC Freiburg, Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Werder Bremen. He was also the Sporting Director of the German Football Federation (DFB) from August 2012 to May 2013.

“The sporting concept presented by Robin Dutt, which focuses on the optimisation of structures and squad planning, completely convinced both the president and the rest of the board”, explained chairman of the supervisory board Dr. Joachim Schmidt in a statement released by the club on the official website. “We firmly believe that his competence, experience and connections, as well as a very team oriented leadership style, can help stabilise and further develop VfB on a sporting level.”

VfB Stuttgart president Bernd Wahler said: “We had clear specifications for this position as Director of Sport. The important points, aside from sporting competence, were the implementation of our strategy and the patency from the youth teams right through to the professional first team. Further factors included leadership qualities, team and communication abilities, as well as an identification with our values. His economic understanding is also important in dealing with our budget and processes. Having weighed up all aspects, I am convinced that Robin Dutt is the correct solution for the role of Director of Sport at VfB.”

“In the constantly changing surroundings of the Bundesliga, the club finds itself facing a major challenge,” Robin Dutt stated. “In the short-term, we will be doing everything in our power to ensure we are successful in the fight for top-flight survival. In the mid to long-term, we intend to combine the different departments and responsibilities in the sporting areas, in order to ensure we can initialise positive and sustainable developments for the future.”

Robin Dutt was born in Cologne to a Bengali father and a German mother. He was mainly brought-up in the southwest of Germany, in the Stuttgart region.