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FOOTBALL EUROPE: Hildebrand left in no man's land

/noticias.info/ VfB Stuttgart have withdrawn their offer of a contract extension to German international goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand, who may now leave the club in 2007.

Negotiations over
The 27-year-old was in negotiations over a new deal, but the club have now brought proceedings to a halt, with sporting director Horst Heldt saying: "This is a very important position for us and we have to plan ahead. We have made him a top offer but he didn't want to commit at this point. That is fair enough and we have to respect it."

Contract expiring
Hildebrand, Germany's current second-choice goalkeeper with five caps to his name, has a contract at Stuttgart that is due to expire next summer. He joined the Swabian club from amateur side FV Hofheim/Ried in 1996, and set a record of 884 minutes without conceding in the Bundesliga between the 2002/03 and 2003/04 seasons.

'No new talks'
However his future at Stuttgart is now in considerable doubt, with Heldt concluding: "There will be no new talks from our side. We will have another strong goalkeeper in the squad for next season who fits our needs and our aims for the future." Stuttgart are currently fourth in the Bundesliga, having reached the last eight in the German Cup with a 4-1 win against VfL Bochum 1848 on Tuesday. notas_de_prensa_archivo