After the seventh game in a row without a win, the VfB Ultras cheered up the players, while more than a few whistles could be heard from other areas of the stadium. The fact that VfB, which seems to have just cleared up an unnecessary jealousy in the management level, has quite a slack result, is obvious after the 1: 3 against Frankfurt. In fact, VfB has already played a few games this season that could have been better than nothing, which is why Eintracht coach Oliver Glasner warned before the game that “at VfB the results don’t match the performance.”
But this time the result matched the performance of both teams quite well. At least if you take into account that it is legitimate when a team that takes the lead as early as Eintracht (Sebastian Rode/6th minute) only plays to its strengths. “Our plan worked to close the rooms to prevent the Stuttgart pace from developing,” said Glasner after the fifth game in 14 days.
Nevertheless, the Stuttgart team often had the ball. But they couldn’t do much with it, especially since this time there was drowsiness when accepting the ball and inaccuracies in the opening of the game. Daichi Kamada scored the decisive 0:2 (55th minute) with a deflected free kick. And at the latest when Konstantinos Mavropanos (65th) missed the goal from four meters just like Atakan Karazor (36th) before, it was finally a question of quality instead of bad luck.
The players were unsure, admits VfB coach Matarazzo
Especially since Kristijan Jakic showed with a loose header shortly afterwards how easy things can be made easy (88th) – it was the third Frankfurt goal after a set piece and the final point under a deserved Stuttgart defeat, after also the 1:2 goal by Tiago Tomas at VfB had not caused any major excitement (79th). “I had the feeling that two important players were unsure at first and infected the others,” said VfB coach Pellegrino Matarazzo.
It’s hard to imagine what the mood in the VfB environment would be like this weekend if sports director Sven Mislintat and board member Alexander Wehrle hadn’t calmed down a conflict on Friday that was still the main topic of conversation in the stadium on Saturday. The supporters had asked themselves quite unanimously why the club management shot a man without any need, who is seen by most as an important factor in ensuring that VfB has at least one squad with potential. And who also generated a huge transfer surplus in the transfer period that just ended. More than 10,000 followers had petitioned for a contract extension with him.
It is quite incomprehensible that the appointment of Philipp Lahm and Sami Khedira as board advisors had not been discussed with Mislintat in advance. The fact that Christian Gentner was installed as the future head of the licensed player department without his knowledge could only be interpreted as an affront to Mislintat. This was possibly meant “only” as a signal that one does not appreciate his self-confident appearance internally.
The fact that Mislintat has publicly indicated several times that he wants to have more money available in the future was not well received by everyone. It is quite possible that the intention was not to damage Mislintat in the long term or even to force him to leave VfB. Those responsible seem to have realized that after last Wednesday that was the only possible interpretation.
Wehrle, in particular, was to blame for the impression, who clearly enjoyed his coup and the nice words of the three old internationals too demonstratively and did not wring a syllable of appreciation towards the sports director. The fact that he is now contrite in a statement – this time certainly between all those involved – can be seen as a belated bridge-building and a signal to Mislintat that one would like to work with him after all.