Between January 13th and 20th, the VfB crew set up quarters at their winter training-camp in Lagos, to prepare for the latter half of the '2. Bundesliga' season, at the end of which the Cannstatt Boys would be hoping to make an immediate return to the top-flight. Hannes Wolf’s men began the second half of their campaign in third place (32 points), behind the sides from Lower Saxony, Eintracht Braunschweig (34 points) and Hannover 96 (32 points). To begin the second round of games, the Wasenelf travelled to FC St. Pauli. In a hard-fought out tie, the side in the shirts with the infamous red hoop secured a 1-0 win – the beginning of a very successful run.
February 17th
With his stunner to make it 2-1, Josip Brekalo not only secured three vital points in the promotion race against VfB’s Baden-Württemberg neighbours from Heidenhem, the shot from distance into the top corner was also voted ‘February Goal of the Month’ by the ARD Sportschau viewers. For the second time since matchday 15, on matchday 19, VfB again took over top-spot in the league table on the back of five consecutive wins since the re-start.
April 2nd
The VfB fans went through an emotional rollercoaster at the beginning of April in the Mercedes-Benz Arena. In front of a crowd of 58,000, the side in the shirts with the infamous red hoop found themselves 0-3 behind against SG Dynamo Dresden after just 26 minutes. Three minutes later, Simon Terodde pulled a goal back fort he hosts and the score then remained at 1-3 until the 75th minute, when Emiliano Insua fired home to make it 2-3. Then, stepping up to convert from the spot, Terrode netted his second of the tie, which was simultaneously the equalizer – crowning a stunning comeback by the Cannstatt Boys. There was however one dampener: Carlos Mané suffered a serious knee injury, which has kept him out of action for VfB Stuttgart ever since. At the end of matchday 26, VfB, Eintracht Braunschweig and 1. FC Union Berlin were level on 50 points in the promotion places, whilst Hannover 96 trailed the leading trio by one point.
April 9th
The 2016/2017 season also entailed a couple of very significant clashes with Karlsruher SC. With VfB having beaten their local rivals 3-1 away from home during the first half of the season, the Cannstatt Boys did the double, claiming a 2-0 victory at the Mercedes-Benz Arena. Both goals on the day were scored by Takuma Asano, who scored three of his four goals during the season against KSC.
April 29th
April was to prove VfB’s month of recoveries. Once again Hannes Wolf’s men found themselves trailing – this time 0-2 away to 1. FC Nürnberg. The Cannstatt Boys again displayed their stunning moral and eventually turned to the tie to make it 3-2, thanks to a goal from Florian Klein. Some 15,000 travelling VfB fans celebrated the victory frenetically.
May 14th
On matchday 33, VfB took a three point advantage to direct promotion competitors Hannover 96 – where Christian Gentner & Co. ultimately took a massive step towards a return to the Bundesliga. The game itself finished in a 0-1 defeat, which meant the club from Lower Saxony were level with the Cannstatt Boys on points. But there was no need for the Weinel to hang their heads. Thanks to the heroics of relegation threatened Armenia Bielefeld, who stunningly beat Eintracht Braunschweig 6-0, VfB took a three-point advantage and a ten-goal superior goal-difference over third-placed Braunschweig into the final match of the season.
May 21st, part 1
What a party in White-Red! VfB beat FC Würzburger Kickers 4-1 and, 40 years after their first return to the top-flight to the day, the Cannstatt Boys celebrated their Bundesliga return. With 25 goals to his credit, Simon Terodde was once again crowned top-scorer in the '2. Bundesliga'. VfB head-coach Hannes Wolf and his men had achieved their lofty goal. The Wasenelf promotion heroes initially celebrated their achievement with the 60,000 spectators in the Mercedes-Benz Arena and then with tens of thousands more on the neighbouring 'Wasengelände', who had followed the proceedings during the ninety minutes of football in a live broadcast event.
May 21st, part 2
With an average attendance of 50,515 per home game during the 2016/2017 season, VfB Stuttgart set a new attendance record in the '2. Bundesliga'. Six home games, including the last five in the season, were completely sold-out.
May 22nd
A day later, the team were received at Stuttgart’s town-hall, where the players were invited to enter their names in the cities 'Golden Book'.
June 1st
At an extraordinary general assembly of VfB club members, some 84,2% voted in favour of the outsourcing of the football department. "Dear members, you have changed history today. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the fate you have placed in us," stated VfB president Wolfgang Dietrich on the decision.