After two years, Serhou Guirassy is leaving VfB and moving on to Dortmund. His time with us was short compared to other players, but all the more intense.
If someone had told me in late summer 2022, when Serhou Guirassy joined VfB at the last minute due to Sasa Kalajdzic’s unreliability, about the record he would leave behind as he bids farewell from Bad Cannstatt today, …
He played only 58 times in the Bundesliga, relegation, and cup matches wearing the shirt with the Red Stripe, scoring 44 goals and assisting five. And who knows what his record would look like if he hadn’t missed six games due to injury in early 2023 and another four early this year because of the AFCON. Guirassy shattered records at the start of this season, scoring 14 goals in eight games, only to be stopped by Jeff Chabot, then still with 1. FC Köln, and a thigh injury. He continued his impressive streak in the second half, scoring in six consecutive games. In the relegation season, a goal from him almost always meant VfB didn’t lose; in the past season, his goals guaranteed victories. His value to VfB was exemplified on the way to the runner-up title on the last matchday: shielding the ball in the penalty area, passing to Enzo Millot, and heading Millot’s precise cross into the net. Breaking away from his defenders with a quick turn before the 2–0 and placing the ball in the corner. His unforgettable tackle in the home win against Bayern, paving the way for Silas’s 3–1 goal.
Open Cards
It was always clear to us that his time at VfB was limited. The only transfer period where not everyone expected his departure was in the winter of 2022/2023 when he still had a valid loan contract with VfB. By last summer at the latest — despite or perhaps because of the purchase option exercised before the relegation — and definitely by winter, fans and journalists were sure that Guirassy would leave the club. However:
and don’t listen to everything on the internet
— Serhou Guirassy (@Guirassy_19) August 20, 2023
No one is surprised that he is now really leaving after passing the medical check on the second attempt. That it’s Dortmund, whose transfer strategy so far gives the impression that Sven Mislintat is on vacation and Lars Ricken simply found the DVD “Best of Bundesliga 2023/24” in his mailbox, is painful. But given the financial volume for Guirassy, it’s understandable. He is signing what is presumably his last, or at least second to last, contract with BVB. Twice a season, we’ll have to hope that Jeff Chabot can still handle him; apart from that, it remains to be seen if both clubs will be direct competitors next season. The financial capabilities of the Champions League finalist make this unlikely, but we thought the same before the last season. Guirassy’s transparency in every transfer window is as commendable as his perceived open and friendly demeanor and his commitment to the Red Stripe.
Thank you for a legendary season!
Five years ago, I wondered here (in German) if we could call Christian Gentner a “legend” after the second relegation in three years and his contract ending with VfB. I concluded that his sports performance and his leadership as captain were not enough for me to bestow this perhaps dispensable title on him. Christian Gentner scored 50 goals and assisted 45 in 373 games for VfB but, of course, wasn’t a striker. Serhou Guirassy scored more goals in one season than any VfB striker before him, significantly contributing to the chest ring’s return to the international stage. Is that enough for legendary status? Or should we perhaps stop putting players on such a pedestal, especially when they are still actively playing?
I thanked Christian Gentner at the time for the good moments and for being a VfB player. I want to do the same here. Thank you for the legendary season, Serhou! Even though as a VfB fan, I now have to hope it remains the only one.
Title image: © Christof Koepsel/Getty Images