Fans give the club an ultimatum
VfB Stuttgart celebrates its next impressive goal party
March 16, 2024, 8:26 p.m
VfB Stuttgart is not giving up in the fight for the Champions League places. At TSG Hoffenheim, coach Sebastian Hoeneß’s team delivers the next top performance. Meanwhile, there is a threat from the fans in the Swabians’ power struggle.
Despite the raging power struggle in the executive suite, VfB Stuttgart is maintaining its impressive course towards the Champions League. The impressively strong Swabians won the Baden-Württemberg duel at TSG Hoffenheim 3-0 (2-0) on matchday 26 of the Bundesliga. With their first win in Sinsheim in around eleven years, VfB consolidated third place in the table. Enzo Millot (16th), Serhou Guirassy (45th + 1) and Jamie Leweling (68th) scored for Stuttgart, where the four professionals called up to the national team played from the start in the “home game” in Sinsheim. VfB has scored 22 out of 24 points from the last eight games.
Before the game, the VfB board had called for an end to the quarrels. The current situation is “a particular burden on practically all levels and comes at an inopportune time,” it said. The committee led by chairman Alexander Wehrle therefore wants to work “actively on the formal clarification of existing problems”. The background is the election of Tanja Gönner as chairwoman of the supervisory board. The former state minister followed club president Claus Vogt.
This was preceded by the new shareholder Porsche’s request for a personnel change at the top of the eleven-member committee. Vogt is defending himself against being voted out. The fans issued an ultimatum with a banner: “Members sold and betrayed – you have two weeks to correct this mistake.”
Hoffenheim has problems everywhere
The 30,150 spectators in the sold-out arena, including almost half from Stuttgart, saw a special game for both coaches. Both Sebastian Hoeneß (Stuttgart) and Pellegrino Matarazzo (Hoffenheim) were previously under contract with the opponent. The Stuttgart team clearly dominated the action in the early stages. Deniz Undav already had the lead in the 7th minute. Four minutes later Millot scored, and seconds later Hiroki Ito came very close to scoring the first goal. Millot put the guests’ dominance on the scoreboard after a strong combination and Undav’s preparatory work.
The hosts, who were missing suspended defenders John Anthony Brooks and Ozan Kabak, among others, had massive problems in all parts of the team. There was no sign of the planned counterattacks via young star Maximilian Beier. In the middle of the first half, the Swabians played cat and mouse with the Kraichgauers. Almost every attack caused danger, the visitors’ force was overwhelming, and the second goal seemed a matter of time. Guirassy in his 50th competitive game for VfB after another assist from Undav made sure of that in stoppage time. It was the striker’s 22nd goal of the season.
At the beginning of the second round, Chris Führich could have made the preliminary decision (49th). After that, the Stuttgart team let things slide for a bit. After an hour, VfB increased the number of hits again. In the 63rd minute, Undav missed the next opportunity, and Millot could have added another two minutes later. In the 68th minute, Guirassy failed, seconds later substitute Leweling struck. For TSG, Andrej Kramaric, who was also a substitute, provided the first sign of life in the offensive with his hit on the crossbar – in the 74th minute. “The first half was one of the best we’ve shown so far,” Hoeneß enthused about his team. “We played as one, a lot of what we had planned worked out. We didn’t let anything happen. In the end it’s a well-deserved win in a really good away game.”