Stuttgart plan Elber mission
Elber, who left Bayern Munich for Lyon only last summer, has made no secret of his desire to return to Die Bundesliga after failing to fulfil the high expectations at Stade Gerland as he played only a marginal role when the team won the French League for a third straight season.
The charismatic Brazilian marksman scored 41 goals in 87 games when lining up for the Swabians from 1994 to 1997, prior to his move to Bayern, and his arrival would certainly be a major boost for the team.
Stuttgart had to settle for the Uefa Cup after missing out on qualification for the Uefa Champions League following their surprising 2-0 defeat at Bayer Leverkusen in the last week of Bundesliga action.
According to reports in local daily Stuttgarter Zeitung, new VFB coach Matthias Sammer, who succeeded the Bayern Munich-bound Felix Magath earlier this month, is known as a keen admirer of the 31-year-old Elber.
Sammer regards him as a perfect replacement for Swiss international forward Marco Streller, who is out for at least six months after breaking his leg.
Stuttgart are understood to be ready to make a ‚é¼2.5 million bid in order to make sure that Elber, who is tied to Lyon until 2005, returns to Germany over the summer.
