Editing VfB Stuttgart (section)

===Original Bundesligist===
Due to disappointing results in international competition including the [[1958 FIFA World Cup|1958]] and [[1962 FIFA World Cup]], and in response to the growth of professionalism in the sport, the [[German Football Association]] (DFB) replaced the regional top flight competitions with a single nationwide professional league in 1963. Stuttgart's consistently solid play through the 1950s earned them a place among the 16 clubs that would make up the original [[Bundesliga]]. As an amateur organisation, and due to proverbial [[Swabia]]n austerity, the club hesitated to spend money, and some players continued to work in an everyday job. Throughout the balance of the decade and until the mid-1970s, the club would generally earn mid-table results.

In [[1972–73 Bundesliga|1973]], the team qualified for the [[UEFA Europa League|UEFA Cup]] for the first time and advanced to the semi-finals of the [[1973–74 UEFA Cup|1974]] tournament where they were eliminated by eventual winners [[Feyenoord]] (1–2, 2–2).