Angelo Stiller: Appreciation at VfB Stuttgart “from the first second”

Transfermarkt interview

Sebastian Hoeneß once had words of praise for Angelo Stiller: “As a central midfielder, he has incredible strategic skills. He can read a game and is able to dictate a game from the six-man position.” Back then, in the summer of 2021, the coach welcomed the youngster as a new signing from TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. The two have been reunited since the end of August – at VfB Stuttgart. Stiller hasn’t missed a minute there and has recently increased his market value.

According to “SWR”, Stiller is the “pace setter” in the VfB midfield. His pass rate of 93.6 percent speaks volumes, it is the fourth highest in this Bundesliga season – only central defenders are better. When asked why the term applies to him, the Munich native answered in an interview with Transfermarkt: “Maybe because I always want to have the ball and try to direct the game. I want to put my stamp on the game and help the team.” He has “succeeded well in this so far,” he says after ten appearances for his new club.

Stuttgart approached him “around the first games of the season”: “When VfB expressed their interest, I wanted to do it straight away. I was convinced by the idea of ​​the game, the philosophy of the coach and the direction of VfB.” He then informed those responsible at TSG about his wish to move, and the deal was completed a few days before the transfer deadline. VfB reportedly paid 5.5 million euros in transfer fee plus bonuses, and Stiller signed a contract until 2027.

The fact that the German U21 international, who took part in the European Championship with the DFB juniors in the summer and was eliminated in the preliminary round, left TSG after two years was also due to his lack of playing time: “I wasn’t happy with it.” In his first In the season in Hoffenheim he was mostly used under Hoeneß, in the second season under him and later Pellegrino Matarazzo he mostly came off the bench. “If you are not happy with your situation, then you should change something to get as much playing time as possible,” said the 22-year-old, who played a total of 52 times (4 goals/3 assists) for TSG.

VfB professional Angelo Stiller: “It’s fun to watch us”

In Stuttgart, the left-footed player met Hoeneß for the third time, whom he also knew from their time together in the Bayern youth team. Whether Stiller would have moved to VfB without the 41-year-old is “only a matter of speculation,” he says with a laugh. “What I can say is that it made the decision much easier for me. It’s always good when you already know each other. The coach knows how I play. And I know how he wants to play. If you can also identify with the game idea, that’s a very good prerequisite.”

Why does it fit so well with Hoeneß? “I believe that he gets the best out of the players and makes them better in their daily work. We all identify with his game idea, stand for courageous combination football, play offensively but also defend well. Our football is currently successful and looks good too. It’s fun to watch us,” says Stiller.

He had the thankless task of having to close the gap in midfield after the departure of captain and crowd favorite Wataru Endo to Liverpool FC. A disadvantage? Quite the opposite: “It was an incentive for me and I felt it was positive pressure to convince the fans of me and the way I play.” Endo is “a real club legend here. I didn’t try to copy him, I’m a different type of player than him.” After Stiller’s signing, Hoeneß pointed out that one shouldn’t make the mistake of comparing the newcomer with the Japanese. He knows “pretty well” what to expect from the youngster at VfB.

So far, Stiller seems to be a stroke of luck for the Swabians, who only stayed in the league through relegation last season and are currently riding the wave of success. VfB is third, with eight wins after eleven match days. They also reached the round of 16 in the DFB Cup. When asked about the reasons for the high, Stiller says: “Because we act as a team and no one puts themselves in the foreground, that is the key to success. Serhou (Guirassy; editor) with his 15 goals is a good example of this. He is an absolute team player, stays on the ground and helps the team offensively and defensively. And not only is he in top shape, but so are many others.”

VfB professional Angelo Stiller: “Every player dreams of playing for Germany”

This was particularly evident in the Bundesliga’s last market value update, when VfB increased its squad value by more than 50 percent and jumped to ninth place with 180.1 million euros. The biggest increase was for Guirassy (+26 million to 40 million euros), but Stiller also increased: for him it was 2.5 million euros to his personal best of 7.5 million euros. “Basically, more and more is possible!” he comments with a laugh. “Hopefully things will go up again in the next update.” Market value admin Tobias Kröger explains: “Stiller has already made Endo forgotten and is convincing at VfB with very good performances. He is technically strong and calm on the ball – a combination that is often sought after. Its upgrade in the last update was probably just an intermediate step on the way to a higher market value.”

Stiller explains why settling in in Stuttgart was easy: “I felt valued at VfB from the first second – not just as a player, but also as a person. That is an important point. If you feel comfortable on and off the pitch, you can perform well.” It was made easy for him to fit in: “It doesn’t matter whether it’s the other players, the coaching team or the rest of the staff. The fans also gave me a great reception.”

In its current form, VfB is on course to play internationally again after most recently in 2013/14 (Europa League qualification). According to Stiller, however, this is not an issue in the team: “We don’t deal with that. We know where we come from – the last two years have been turbulent. We want to have a worry-free season and think from game to game.”

If things continue as before for the club and Stiller, the midfield talent could sooner or later become the focus of national coach Julian Nagelsmann. The 2023 international match year came to an end for the DFB team with the 2-0 defeat against Austria. The national team will next meet in March to continue preparing for the home European Championship. Then with Stiller? “Every player dreams of playing for Germany. For me, the main thing at the moment is that things are going well at VfB and we are successful,” he keeps a low profile.

Teammate Chris Führich showed how to make the jump from VfB to the national team – he made his debut in the final phase of the 3-1 win against the USA. According to VfB coach Hoeneß, the attacker was “like a little child” about his first nomination. Stiller laughs and says that it would probably look the same to him if the national coach called him.

Interview: Pascal Martin (p_martin)

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