VfB Stuttgart: The new one starts: These construction sites await Hoeneß at VfB

VfB Stuttgart
The new one starts: These construction sites await Hoeneß at VfB

Sebastian Hoeneß has set himself three goals at VfB Stuttgart for the time being: The new coach wants to win the DFB Cup quarter-finals at second division club 1. FC Nürnberg on Wednesday (6 p.m. / Sky), with the Swabians the threat of renewed relegation from the Bundesliga avoid and carry out an in-depth analysis with the sporting management of the club in the summer. The successor to the hapless Bruno Labbadia starts this Tuesday. He has big plans – and many problems to solve.

Lack of discipline: Sometimes it seems as if some VfB professionals have not yet fully internalized the seriousness of the situation, despite falling to the bottom of the table and two points behind relegation rank 16. Some performances in the past few weeks, such as at Schalke (1: 2) or against Wolfsburg (0: 1), can hardly be explained otherwise. The team lacks leaders and drivers. Moderate performance has been and is too often glossed over. “He will quickly find the right approach,” says VfB sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth about Hoeneß. It will need it to rekindle passion.

Lack of goal threat: The week-long absence of center forward Serhou Guirassy due to an adductor injury was a huge problem for VfB – and ultimately also for Labbadia. Without the massive 27-year-old, the Swabians found it extremely difficult to develop a goal threat. The actions of other offensive forces like Silas, Tiago Tomás or Chris Führich often lack the necessary consistency and penetrating power. VfB have only scored 29 league goals this season, only Bochum (28) and Schalke (21) have fewer. After all: Guirassy made his comeback in the 0-3 defeat at 1. FC Union Berlin on Saturday.

Flood of mistakes: Because they rarely score up front, an individual mistake at the back is often enough to deprive Stuttgart of important points. Sometimes the defenders are inattentive, sometimes the goalkeepers weaken – like Florian Müller against RB Leipzig (1: 2) or his deputy and successor as number one, Fabian Bredlow, against FC Bayern Munich (1: 2).

There are more than three million euros for reaching the cup semi-finals. In the very first game under Hoeneß in Nuremberg, the financially stricken VfB are all about a lot of money – four days later at VfL Bochum they are about important points in the fight to stay in the league. The new coach doesn’t have much time to get started. But plenty of work.

dpa