For the third game in a row, VfB Stuttgart has thrown away crucial points due to hair-raising mistakes—despite an initial improvement in performance. The team’s problems have relatively little to do with their opponent.
“I primarily want to see a VfB team that throws everything into this game, both mentally and physically, and proves that they remain a force to be reckoned with in the fight for European competition. Whether that will be enough to earn points in the end, we’ll see. The main thing is that we don’t beat ourselves again.” That’s what I wrote on Friday in my preview of the match, which I believe once again deserved the title “Südgipfel.” I got what I wanted—and somehow, I didn’t.
Because in the first half against Bayern, VfB delivered one of their best performances under Sebastian Hoeneß and took a well-earned lead through a dream goal by Angelo Stiller. Bayern, on the other hand, struggled against Jeff Chabot and the outstanding Finn Jeltsch, visibly impressed by a Stuttgart side that dominated midfield duels. However, it was clear that in the current situation, we wouldn’t keep a clean sheet against the league leaders. The equalizer, following a midfield turnover and a pass behind the defensive line, was bound to come eventually in one way or another.
It’s well known that games in Munich—or against Bayern in general—are like a trip to the dentist: “Everyone has to go at some point. It can be quite painful. But sometimes, you get off lightly,” as Sebastian Prödl once said, and he was right. In recent years, Stuttgart has rarely escaped unscathed—aside from wins in May and 2018 and two draws in 2022, the matches have mostly been painful experiences. However, what hurts even more is when, to stay with the metaphor, you take over the dentist’s job and pull out your own teeth.
That’s exactly what happened on Friday night when Alex Nübel passed the ball shortly to Angelo Stiller without noticing the onrushing Leon Goretzka. Stiller, in turn, lacked the awareness to pass the ball sideways instead of returning it to Nübel. And then, just before the end, Josha Vagnoman, at 1–2, lost control of the ball against Kingsley Coman. He was overtaken by Finn Jeltsch, who was sprinting back, but even he couldn’t prevent the 1–3.
No Chance After the Break
Of course, it’s not just because of this particularly tough fixture that Stuttgart has slipped to 9th place with ten games to go. At the same time, this match was another example of wasted opportunities. If any team in the last decade had the potential to beat Bayern, it was this one—especially considering how they demonstrated, before halftime, that even the league leaders can be disrupted with focused pressing, as seen last season.
However, the problems currently affecting the team have little to do with their opponents. While Bayern punishes mistakes more ruthlessly than Hoffenheim, Wolfsburg, Gladbach, or Mainz, the real issue isn’t just defensive lapses costing Stuttgart points. Instead, it’s a collective drop in intensity, which has now led to blowing a lead for the third consecutive match.
Even acknowledging that there is another team on the field reacting to the score, it’s striking that after halftime, Stuttgart only managed four shots—none of them on target. Instead of simply taking a shot from a good position like Angelo Stiller did for his goal or playing a straightforward pass forward like the one Woltemade scored his goal from last week, the team kept overcomplicating things. They repeatedly passed the ball sideways and backward in front of goal, trying to walk it in.
Deniz Undav, despite his effort, remained ineffective and again didn’t receive attacking reinforcements until after the 80th minute, when Hoeneß threw everything forward with Bruun Larsen and Demirovic. Enzo Millot replaced the once-again lackluster Jamie Leweling after 70 minutes but mainly stood out for his bad mood for the remainder of the game—much like Demirovic. While this doesn’t exactly make the case for them getting more playing time, I still don’t understand why Hoeneß doesn’t try to influence the game earlier with substitutions.
Of course, Undav and Woltemade are currently in better form than Millot and Demirovic—but is it really productive to keep doing the same thing and expect different results?
No One Takes Control
The question of what’s causing the performance drop and crisis in results since late January still lingers in Bad Cannstatt—regardless of the unsurprising loss on Friday night. One factor is certainly the match against Paris, which seems to have shaken the team’s confidence more fundamentally than, for example, the crushing defeat against Bayern in the first half of the season.
The issue of maintaining intensity may also play a role: In the first seven games of the season, Stuttgart earned two more points despite playing three midweek fixtures. Right now, the full training weeks don’t seem to be helping, especially on a mental level, where more work may be needed.
The squad’s average age was already a talking point under Pellegrino Matarazzo when the team started collecting more compliments than points and repeatedly let games slip away. But even back then, the average age of the starting lineup wasn’t particularly low. And if an 18-year-old, in only his second Bundesliga appearance, is one of the most stable players on the pitch, that argument completely falls apart.
In my view, it’s a question of team structure—just like in the first half of the season and at times under Matarazzo. Of course, we are now on a completely different level compared to our former coach—both in terms of playing style and squad balance and resilience.
Nevertheless, the team is increasingly losing control towards the end of matches because no one seems capable of taking charge and steering the game. In Dortmund, they managed to do so with an extremely destructive approach and high efficiency. But even in the first half of the season, against Freiburg and Mainz, for example, they acted naïvely.
Of course, this also has to do with the departures of key leaders like Waldemar Anton and Serhou Guirassy. Replacing them in terms of skill is one thing, but no one has truly stepped into their roles as mental game-changers this season. Not Deniz Undav, not Ermedin Demirovic, not Atakan Karazor, and not Angelo Stiller.
The Breakthrough Has to Come
However, one mistake would be to measure this season solely by the last one—after all, even Waldemar Anton spent years being carried along by the team’s fluctuating performances. Since Sebastian Hoeneß took over, there hasn’t been a phase like this, and it is now presenting the entire club with a major challenge.
Now, in Kiel, the pressure is enormous. It brings back memories of the second division when, despite individual superiority, Stuttgart struggled against teams like Osnabrück, Wiesbaden, and Kiel. But this is no longer the second division—the team now has significantly more quality.
At the same time, this cannot become a mantra that leads to the next careless loss of points. Up north, the breakthrough has to happen—no matter how. In the end, for a team that is obviously deeply unsettled, it may simply be crucial to put in a convincing performance, both in terms of play and result, to get back into the flow they’ve found time and again.
But that won’t happen on its own. The team and coaching staff must use this training week to find solutions.
Picture: © Alex Grimm/Getty Images