A special match awaits VfB this evening. In sporting terms, we can take a big step toward the playoffs or the round of 16 in the Europa League. Given the circumstances surrounding this match, however, that almost fades into the background.
Maccabi Tel Aviv have scored exactly one goal in European competition this season, in their 1–3 home defeat to Dinamo Zagreb; the Israeli champions also managed to pick up a point away at PAOK. Ahead of their visit to the Neckarstadion, the roles are, in principle, so clearly defined that VfB should be able to deliver a clear reaction to the painful thrashing against Munich last Saturday, before travelling to Bremen on Sunday to face an opponent at whose stadium we’ve not looked particularly good in recent years. Even though the 0–5 against the champions and league leaders is quite a humiliation in our current situation, I don’t expect the team to let it drag them down the way the Champions League exit at the start of the year did. It seems that the change in rhythm also played a role back then: every league defeat was not already forgotten by Tuesday or Wednesday, but instead echoed in the players’ heads for an entire week. The clear and forthright analysis by Deniz Undav and Angelo Stiller — problematic as the admission may be that the team gave up — shows, in my opinion, that the team itself realized what went wrong during those three matches last week.
As relaxed as I am about the sporting side of tonight’s match, the atmosphere surrounding it is bleak and disturbing. Extensive and therefore time-consuming personal checks with metal detectors at the entrances, guarded by police officers carrying openly visible firearms — that’s another level entirely compared to the checks at the fan meeting point (!) in Deventer. And of course, the situation is different. While I’m still not sure whether little King Ron intended to protect his city from marauding hordes from Stuttgart or us from marauding hordes from Deventer — or whether he just doesn’t think much of European freedom of movement — tonight’s match comes with a far more concrete threat level, given the ongoing tensions triggered by the Middle East conflict, to put it mildly. Everyone, of course, still remembers the riots around Maccabi’s match in Amsterdam in November 2024, as well as the exclusion of Israeli fans from the match at Aston Villa this season because police in the West Midlands considered themselves unable to handle the situation. What will happen in Stuttgart today, I don’t know — but the match is already accompanied by calls for boycotts and demonstrations. This is definitely not a normal football match.
You can also see that in the rules that apply inside the stadium: “Outside the Cannstatter Kurve and the away fan section, carrying and displaying flags, banners, signs and fan items of any kind — with the exception of fan shirts, scarves and hats — is not permitted. Security staff are instructed to act immediately against any form of disturbance or provocative behavior in the stands. The displaying of flags, banners, signs or messages of any kind outside the Cannstatter Kurve and the away section will be stopped immediately by security.” In my view, this throws out the baby with the bathwater, similar to what happened in Birmingham, albeit in a different way. While in England they feared scenes like those in Amsterdam and therefore punished the away fans collectively by excluding them, here they want to prevent any form of visual expression outside the Cannstatter Kurve and the away end. Commando Cannstatt already commented on the match yesterday and, in their characteristically nuanced fashion, made it clear: “We as the Cannstatter Kurve, we as the VfB fan community, are under a media microscope on this day. The Middle East conflict is far too complex and drawn-out for simple solutions or quickly shouted or painted slogans to be of any use. Our stand will certainly not serve as a stage for global political statements this evening, and we will not accept abuse of it for such purposes!” I fully agree with them: anyone who thinks they can express themselves on this topic in an appropriate and balanced way on a banner, in a chant, or in a social-media comment is deluding themselves. Of course, CC also want to prevent messages on the Middle East conflict from appearing within their sphere of influence, just like the club does.
And yet, no one is done any favors by imposing such rules on spectators. Sure: I don’t want to hear or see any dehumanizing, racist, discriminatory or antisemitic garbage at the Neckarstadion either. At the same time, these rules come with a disempowerment of fans and a presumption that expressions and opinions on the Middle East conflict in a football stadium pose a greater danger than elsewhere. Of course, statements on the Middle East conflict around football stadiums tend to be simplistic and polarizing — partly because many people struggle to allow a coexistence of emotions on this topic — but not every such statement is discriminatory. It will undoubtedly be challenging for security staff, in each situation, to draw the line where discrimination begins. But those who exclude football fans from matches across the board or forbid them from expressing views on a controversial topic in the stadium are accusing them of lacking nuanced thinking and behavior — something you wouldn’t necessarily deny people in other contexts.
Which brings us back to the sporting side and the
Squad situation
Jeff Chabot is, as I only recently realized, suspended for this evening’s match after picking up three yellow cards in the last three European fixtures, the last one provoked by the hatchet men from Deventer. Ermedin Demirović is still not fit and, in any case, currently not in the Europa League squad, nor are Yannik Keitel and Stefan Drljaca. Luca Jaquez and Dan-Axel Zagadou are, as is well known, out until at least the end of the year. On top of that, Pascal Stenzel, Leo Stergiou, and Ameen Al-Dakhil are also not registered for the Europa League, along with Silas and Noah Darvich, who are not currently in contention for the squad anyway. Accordingly, for the
Possible starting XI
a back four is almost unavoidable given the lack of centre-backs. Stiller and Undav will initially be given a rest after the Bayern match, while El Khannouss and Bouanani will be away with their national teams for the Africa Cup starting Monday. But even this starting lineup should be capable of deciding the match early.
Statistics
VfB have never played against a team from Israel in European competition. Maccabi, however, faced Werder Bremen in the first round of the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1994 (0–0, 0–2), Bayern in the 2004 Champions League group stage (0–1, 1–5), and most recently Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League group stage (4–2, 0–2). As mentioned at the beginning, the Israeli champions’ Europa League record over the past two years has been disastrous; in the Ligat Ha’Al they most recently lost 0–1 to leaders Hapoel Beer Sheva and currently sit in third place. Their only Europa League goal was scored by Saied Abu Farchi, while Dor Peretz and Ido Shahar are the most dangerous scorers in the league. With Hélio Varela, Maccabi also have a World Cup participant in their squad — representing Cape Verde.
Conclusion
It’s certain that even after the match, the discussion won’t be limited to the sporting side. Let’s hope that a clear home win for VfB will still be what ultimately remains from this match — and that the world develops in a direction where we no longer have to talk about security measures and bans before European fixtures.
Picture: © Shaun Botterill/Getty Images