Sebastian Hoeneß had problems. He moved the chair, then adjusted the microphone and greeted the reporters who had gathered in front of him that Wednesday evening. Hoeneß was about to present his analysis, but he wasn’t sitting comfortably yet, so he pressed his lips together and shifted his seat a second time. Only then did he sum up the 90 minutes that just lay behind him quite aptly.
Hoeneß, who has initial difficulties and cannot hide it, but who then readjusts and repairs, who changes details and finally achieves the goal: It was a symbolic scene that developed after the cup game between 1. FC Nürnberg and VfB Stuttgart in the press room of the Max Morlock Stadium. Hoeneß’s new team also needed a certain amount of time to pick up speed and develop the momentum that finally helped them to the decisive 1-0 through Enzo Millot in the second half.
In the end it was also a victory for the group, because on Wednesday evening that turned out to be the most striking difference between the second division club Nuremberg and VfB, who play in the first division, but with unsightly regularity there is reason to look up again to be on the safe side, whether that really is. Stuttgart, and with it what sets them apart from the club, decided the duel with their bench: In the person of Serhou Guirassy, that straightness came into the VfB game that he still lacked in the first half – and Millot was ultimately the celebrated one Scorer.
Afterwards, when the chair was in place and the microphone was set, Hoeneß made it clear: “It’s only possible that we’ll be together as a group for the next few weeks. That has to be the way.” Against this background, the 90 minutes of Nuremberg are “a perfect start to document exactly that”.
Sebastian Hoeneß relies on cohesion and claims to need everyone in Stuttgart
Hoeneß knows that he needs everyone to survive in the Bundesliga relegation battle – after all, Bochum, Borussia Dortmund and Augsburg will present VfB with greater tasks than the club did on Wednesday evening. The people of Nuremberg are also asking themselves big questions in these weeks. At the Valznerweiher, they don’t know the name of their coach next season – nor whether they might face VfB Stuttgart again next year or rather VfB Oldenburg.
In spring 2023, in the middle of the season, the FCN is a team that is basically still in the preparation phase. Since sports director Dieter Hecking appointed himself coach Dieter Hecking, the club has been pursuing a fundamentally different idea than its predecessor Markus Weinzierl, who at times was not even sure whether there was an idea he was pursuing at all. Due to the defensive approach, Nuremberg’s feet were tied for a long time, now they want to flee forward and play football themselves. On Wednesday evening, however, the second division team did not get beyond the beginnings – and that also had something to do with VfB.
Stuttgart didn’t shine, but showed the seriousness that it takes to win such a cup game against a lower-class opponent. The performance had something of professional coolness and inner calm, but VfB had more to offer, at least in the last thirty minutes, than the late winning goal suggests. 1:0, that sounds like a good horse principle, but that only sums up the game if you interpret it like this: The people of Stuttgart didn’t just wait for the right moment to jump so high, how they had to jump – they created the moment themselves and then jumped.