Matchday three is upon us, and alongside the game in Rome, this will likely be the toughest away fixture of the European campaign.
At last, things are clicking in the Bundesliga. After a difficult start, VfB managed to win four games in a row and delivered perhaps their best performance of the still-young season in Wolfsburg. With plenty of momentum, the team now travels to the Bosporus. There, they will be welcomed by the traditional Turkish club Fenerbahçe Spor Kulübü at the historic Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, which is named after Turkey’s fifth prime minister.
Although Fenerbahçe is considered the eternal rival of Turkish record champion Galatasaray, they haven’t won a Süper Lig title since the 2014/15 season — despite boasting star power both on and off the pitch. Waiting there for VfB is also a familiar face: current coach Domenico Tedesco. Born in Italy but raised in Esslingen, Tedesco played football for the Stuttgart district club FV Zuffenhausen before embarking on his coaching career after a less successful playing stint. Following a few formative years at ASV Aichwald, he went on to coach VfB Stuttgart’s U17 side — and the rest is history.
However, VfB Stuttgart are not traveling to Istanbul just to bring back a few souvenirs from the Turkish metropolis — ideally, they’ll return with all three points. That will be a very tough task. Even though Fenerbahçe started the season somewhat below expectations, as an away team you have to be prepared for a real battle. I expect an atmosphere similar to last season’s trip to Red Star Belgrade. I probably don’t need to remind anyone how that one ended. Hopefully, VfB have learned from that debacle — about how to handle themselves in such situations and how not to be intimidated. I also hope that our traveling fans will act a bit more cautiously this time and that we’ll avoid any unpleasant incidents. After all, we’re all there to celebrate football.
Squad Situation
To quote Hoeneß: “We’ve traveled with all the players who are registered.”
Possible Starting Lineup
I don’t expect any surprises. Maybe Nartey could again be used as an attacking midfielder in the half-space instead of Führich, but I think Führich’s experience and match sharpness will be the decisive factors.
Statistics
This will be VfB’s first-ever match against Fenerbahçe — and their first against any Turkish team.
Fenerbahçe, on the other hand, will face a German side for the 14th time. Their previous opponents have included Borussia Mönchengladbach, Nürnberg, FC Carl Zeiss Jena, Schalke 04, and Bayer 04 Leverkusen. From those 13 encounters, they collected a total of seven points. Their only win against a German team came against Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2012 at the Borussia-Park.
Domenico Tedesco will be facing VfB Stuttgart for the seventh time in his career. Against the German cup winners, he holds a record of four wins, one draw, and one loss — only against Wolfsburg has he won more games. His sole defeat to VfB came during his time as head coach of Erzgebirge Aue, in his first meeting with his former club.
Conclusion
This will be a very difficult away match. VfB will face not only a hostile atmosphere but also a battle-hardened European side featuring former players from PSG, Man City, Barcelona, and Real Madrid. For me, even a draw here would already count as a success.
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