Since succeeding Jens Lehmann, one of Germany's most decorated goalkeepers in the modern era, Sven Ulreich's position at Stuttgart is now untenable.

From the euphoric high of soaking in critical acclaim to the forlorn low of reconciling himself to backup status again, Ulreich's career has see-sawed like Lehmann's state of mind. 

Prior to answering a mayday call from Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, Lehmann retired on his own terms as opposed to eking out another season at Stuttgart.

"Staying would be unfair on Sven Ulreich," Lehmann said, per Bild (h/t Sky Sports). "He will be rivalling Alexander Stolz and they are both looking forward to the challenge."

Conveniently omitting a scandal-plagued season, Lehmann departing not only left Stuttgart management feeling relieved, but he handed Ulreich a vacancy to fill.

Yes, Lehmann positively impacted Ulreich indirectly by not fighting Father Time.

But that paled in comparison to an ad hoc phone call made by the late Robert Enke.

April 13, 2008.

In the aftermath of a 3-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen, Stuttgart manager Armin Veh vented his frustration at Ulreich, then a 19-year-old prospect unsure of his future as a top-flight footballer.

Instead of protecting the impressionable teenager, Veh shamed Ulreich.

Why?

Veh provided the media and fans with an explanation to disregard the potential of Ulreich in order to re-instate the veteran Raphael Schafer.

Standing in front of the television, Enke shook his head in disbelief at Veh, perhaps afflicted by distressing flashbacks of Louis van Gaal.

Finding Ulreich's number via a glove manufacturer directory, Enke—the third-best goalkeeper in Germany—called the shell-shocked teenager, per Ronald Reng's book A Life too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke:

What was important, Robert told him [Ulreich], was decisions.

[...]

He mustn't despair, even if the coach [Armin Veh] now wanted to take him off the team. 

That public criticism from Veh was really the worst. He'd [Enke had] exactly the same thing from [Van Gaal] at Barcelona.

One stupid match and he [Enke] was out of the team.

He'd gone into a very deep trough, but this was the important thing he wanted to say to Ulreich—he'd come out of it again. 

Ulreich would do the same. He had huge talent.

[...]

"I don't think there'd ever been anything like that in professional football before," Ulreich said. "A national goalkeeper spontaneously ringing an unknown 19-year-old to help him."

Buoyed by Enke's sage advice, that "unknown 19-year-old" took his demotion to Stuttgart II in stride and chipped away in the 3. Liga.

Three seasons later post-Veh, Ulreich ranked as the third-best goalkeeper during the 2011-12 Bundesliga campaign, per Kicker.

Ulreich was three places ahead of Marc-Andre ter Stegen, formerly of Borussia Monchengladbach, who is seen as a modern-day Oliver Kahn and later signed for Barcelona.

"He's [Ulreich has] had a fantastic year during which he proved himself not just to us but also to many critics," Stuttgart's then-sporting director Fredi Bobic said, per Stuttgart's official website. "[Ulreich's] five year agreement is a clear commitment to VfB."

May 12, 2014. 

After spells at Wolfsburg, Hamburg and Eintracht Frankfurt, Veh returned to Stuttgart.

"Just the one job really tempted me," Veh said, per Deutsche Welle. "Right from the start that was VfB Stuttgart, a club I share a special relationship with." 

There is no "special relationship" between Veh and Ulreich. The mistrust was palpable during Stuttgart's 2-0 defeat to Koln.

Muttering words to himself, Veh directed a look of resignation towards Ulreich.

Sure, Koln centre-forward Anthony Ujah had time to shoot.

But the shot was not adroitly directed into the bottom corner, nor was it laced with Lukas Podolski-esque power.

It was a routine shot which should have inflated Ulreich's saves statistic.

Yet he back-peddled and dived too late as Ujah's goal sneaked past. Just 11 minutes earlier, Ulreich palmed the ball straight into the path of Koln central attacking midfielder Yuya Osako, who poached a cheap goal.

Osako had a look of bewilderment—he has gone 0-4 in goals-league games played since scoring—whereas Ulreich glanced at the linesman hoping to see the flag raised, to no avail.  

From Veh's perspective, Ulreich dug his own grave by conceding six goals in the next three games.

Despite the six saves in a 2-2 draw against Borussia Dortmund, Ulreich was out of position in the two key moments of the game. 

Being drawn out, he failed to win the ball from Dortmund deep-lying forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who steered the ball into the empty net from an acute angle. 

When Dortmund left-back Marcel Schmelzer floated in a free-kick, Ulreich charged out gung-ho and was caught in no-man's-land as Dortmund centre-forward Ciro Immobile nicked a goal.

• OUT: Sven Ulreich
• IN: Thorsten Kirschbaum

Six years and five months ago, Ulreich was dropped for Schafer, a seasoned pro.

Now Ulreich is being replaced by Kirschbaum, a physically imposing goalkeeper but one who lacks the experience and upside.

Who was the manager on both occasions? Veh. 

Neither can buy into each other as there is a feeling of apprehension. 

Veh may ask Ulreich: "Why can't you make saves like Roman Burki and dominate the box like Ralf Fahrmann?"

Tinged with resentment, Ulreich may respond: "You have given Kirschbaum leeway. Where was that leeway six years and five months ago?"

When Lehmann was benched by Arsenal, he came out swinging. 

"I am convinced that I will play again soon," Lehmann said, per The Guardian. "While watching matches, I cannot see that Almunia is better than me."

Replace Almunia with Kirschbaum—and fittingly, Ulreich is in a Lehmann-like situation.

While there won't be a deep and meaningful phone call from Enke, his six-years-and-five-month-old message to Ulreich still applies.

@allanjianga

+allanjiang

Statistics via WhoScored