25th matchday
VfB now last – Labbadia is “not up for debate”
Omar Marmoush (r) scores the goal to give Wolfsburg a 1-0 lead in Stuttgart. photo
© Tom Weller/dpa
No consistency, no penetrating power, no goal threat: VfB Stuttgart disappointed against VfL Wolfsburg and was the last to go into the international break. The sports director supports the coach.
The fans of VfB Stuttgart acknowledged the slipping to the last place in the table with a loud whistle concert. In the relegation battle of the Bundesliga, the Swabians got even deeper into the crisis with coach Bruno Labbadia – and at least with the weak performance in the 0: 1 (0: 0) against VfL Wolfsburg, they aroused the displeasure of the supporters.
Disappointed, Labbadia, who had saved the Lower Saxony opponents from going into the second division in the 2017/18 season in the relegation relegation, had to accept the next setback. But his job is not yet an issue.
VfB only with a victory under Labbadia
“That’s not up for debate,” said sports director Fabian Wohlgemuth when asked about the future of the coach, after former Stuttgart striker Omar Marmoush had decided the game for the guests from Wolfsburg in the 56th minute in front of 44,900 spectators.
A win from ten Bundesliga games is the sobering record of the highly relegated Stuttgart under Labbadia. In December, the coach succeeded Pellegrino Matarazzo and interim coach Michael Wimmer. The hoped-for positive effect of a change of coach did not materialize.
“The table situation is not nice today, no question. As far as my job is concerned, I’m not too concerned at the moment,” said Labbadia. Rather, the 57-year-old should worry about the performance of his professionals. In particular, VfB has to improve on the offensive in order to be able to turn things around with the next task at 1. FC Union Berlin on April 1st.
The result and performance were “questionable” against Wolfsburg, Wohlgemuth clearly criticized. The necessary determination was “not visible” against the Lower Saxony, who are fighting for an international starting place for the coming season. In the weeks before, the Stuttgart team had taken courage from the 1-1 draw at Champions League participants Eintracht Frankfurt and from the narrowly lost 2-1 loss at record champions Bayern Munich, even if the results weren’t right. This time, Wohlgemuth summed it up: “We were too hesitant in the duels, had no conviction in our offensive actions and basically didn’t create any serious chances to score.”
The pressure in Stuttgart is growing
On the defensive, the hosts gave Marmoush too much space when conceding a goal – the attacker overcame VfB goalkeeper Fabian Bredlow from a good 20 meters. “We have to defend that better,” said Josha Vagnoman, who was called up to the national team by national coach Hansi Flick, but only came off the bench at Labbadia.
Because there was a lack of consistency and penetrating power even after the goal, VfB spends the upcoming international break with only 20 points behind all the competitors in the fight for staying in the class. Bochum surprised with a 1-0 win over RB Leipzig, 1899 Hoffenheim won 3-1 against Hertha and FC Schalke 04 got a point from a 1-1 draw in Augsburg. “We have already stabilized,” said CEO Alexander Wehrle at Sky. The relationship between coach and team fits. “That’s why I’m firmly convinced that we’ll achieve our goal of finishing at least 15th.”
But the pressure is growing. Wohlgemuth could understand that the fans were chanting “wake up” in the meantime: “In the end they are not wrong after a game like this,” said the sports director: “We are disappointed. Now we have to get up again.”