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Against Augsburg, almost an hour had passed on Wednesday when almost 50,000 VfB fans started singing a song. A song that probably best sums up the current mood: “After all that shit we’re going on a trip, Stuuuuuttgart international, ohohoh European Cup.”
All this nonsense relates to the last ten years. At that time, VfB used 17 (!) different coaches. The magazine “11 Freunde” wrote in the spring about a “chronically nervous traditional club”. At that time, the Swabians narrowly avoided their third relegation in seven years, only saving themselves in the barrage against HSV.
Lost the most important player in the summer
Now, after an incredible first half of the season, the Stuttgart team is coming from third place, playing exciting combination football, seven points ahead of fifth-placed BVB and dreaming of the Champions League. And this despite losing the most important player, Wataru Endo, the captain, to Liverpool in the summer. And with Konstantinos Mavropanos (West Ham) and Borna Sosa (Ajax), two more team pillars.
The rise of the Swabians is inextricably linked to the man on the sidelines. Since Sebastian Hoeness (41) took over from Bruno Labbadia (57) in April, he has freed the team from the defensive corset of his predecessor. And it got into the heads of the completely restless players.
Almost every player has improved under Hoeness. The symbol is Angelo Stiller (22). He played under Hoeness at both Bayern II and Hoffenheim, but was only a substitute after his dismissal and returned to his sponsor in the summer.
Quieter than symbol
Now he pulls the strings in the center of Stuttgart, with fine foot and passion in duels. At the back, the new captain, Waldemar Anton, is the boss in the defensive center. Under Labbadia he often had to play on the right side. And in attack, VfB has a top duo with Guirassy and Undav who complement each other perfectly.
The question is: how long? Top scorer Guirassy plays with a winter transfer and can leave the club for a fixed amount of a ridiculous 17.5 million. “At this point there is no reason for me to worry,” Hoeness said.
After all, he had to replace his best player in the summer. And the hole closed brilliantly.
|
team
|
SP
|
T.D
|
PT
|
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
 BSC Young Boys
|
18
|
23
|
38
|
|
|
2
|
 FC St. Gallen
|
18
|
12
|
33
|
|
|
3
|
 FC Zurich
|
18
|
14
|
31
|
|
|
4
|
 Napkin FC
|
18
|
8th
|
31
|
|
|
5
|
 FC Lugano
|
18
|
2
|
26
|
|
|
6
|
 FC Lucerne
|
18
|
-5
|
25
|
|
|
7
|
 FC Winterthur
|
18
|
-7
|
22
|
|
|
8th
|
 Grasshopper Club Zurich
|
18
|
1
|
21
|
|
|
9
|
 Yverdon Sports FC
|
18
|
-14
|
21
|
|
|
10
|
 FC Lausanne Sport
|
18
|
-5
|
20
|
|
|
11
|
 FC Basel
|
18
|
-10
|
18
|
|
|
12
|
 FC Stade Lausanne Ouchy
|
18
|
-19
|
11
|
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
