 He answered his critics by showing substantial improvements throughout the following two seasons and was voted skipper of the Nürnberg team before the start of the 2006–07 season.In July 2007, he moved to Nürnberg's Bundesliga rival VfB Stuttgart, making his debut for them on 10 August against Schalke 04.However, his performances were not as they were expected to be and he could not live up to the expectations.