Red Hot Hilbert

If there were any questions remaining about Roberto Hilbert's importance to his team, they were settled on Saturday during Stuttgart's narrow 2-1 win over Wehen Wiesbaden in the first round of the German Cup.

Hilbert saved the reigning Bundesliga champions from embarrassment by stepping up and converting not one, but two penalties.

Normally such responsibility would be reserved for more experienced players, but Stuttgart has every reason to be confident in Hilbert's nerves and leadership qualities.

In 2006-7, Hilbert played in every game for the southern German side and scored four crucial goals during the 8-game winning streak that secured Stuttgart the league title.

Domestic responsibilities

Hilbert's early maturity may something to do with having a child at a young age.

"Perhaps that's true," Hilbert told DW-TV's Bundesliga Kick-Off. "I became a father early on. I have a lot of responsibility at home, and I enjoy taking on responsibility together with my wife. I know where I come from, and I keep my feet on the ground."

Hilbert rise is the product of hard work. In 2003, while peers Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski were already being touted as the Bundesliga's next stars, Hilbert was honing his talents in the fourth division.

Now he's become a mainstay with the league champions, while Schweini and Poldi are struggling to stay in Bayern's starting 11.

Winning quietly

Hilbert is fleet of foot, difficult to separate from the ball and not shy about testing keepers from long distance. Those qualities earned him his first national caps earlier this year, and he could play a major role for Germany in the 2008 European Championship.

But first he'll be trying to repeat last season's success with Stuttgart. Many experts don't give the champions must chance of repeating, but Hilbert thinks that could be an advantage.

"We'll stay modest," Hilbert said. "The media like to talk about Bayern, Bremen and Schalke, and that's good for us. Let them talk about the supposed Big Three. They can do that every season, as far as I'm concerned, as long as the end result is the same as last year."

If Hilbert continues to improve at the pace he has set in the past few seasons, the results would be very positive indeed.

You can watch the entire interview with Roberto Hilbert on this week's edition of Bundesliga Kick-Off.