Despite two remarkable draws against Leipzig (1:1) and Bayern (2:2), VfB Stuttgart is without a win in the bottom of the table. Will Pellegrino Matarazzo’s team fight relegation until the end or will they manage to turn things around?
VfB Stuttgart is in a worse position than some games would suggest. But a mixture of offensive negligence and defensive negligence leaves Stuttgart where they would prefer not to see themselves: on the relegation place. Time for an interim balance.
How did the launch go?
If you look at the table, quite modest. 16th place, only five points and no win. VfB Stuttgart has never started a Bundesliga season worse. Better Bundesliga appearances, which certainly existed but didn’t result in a threesome, alternate weak games like the 1:3 against Frankfurt or the 1:1 against newly promoted Schalke away.
Confronted with the statistical lean balance, VfB sports director Sven Mislintat often replies: “You also have to see the pictures of the results.” And he’s right: the pictures weren’t always bad. In Bremen, for example, the first three points were already in the VfB team bus – until the wily Scotsman Oliver Burke came and she with his Last minute goal to 2:2 still steal. Or in Cologne, when VfB Stuttgart started furiously, the Rhinelanders were literally played against the wall, but Silas in particular forgot to score. After the final whistle, the Swabians were happy to go home with a draw when Luca Pfeiffer was sent off and Florian Müller held the 0:0 in an outstanding manner.
However, the “if”, the “would be” or the “should have” has no value in the bare tabular statistics. It is understandable that Sven Mislintat and coach Pellegrino Matarazzo put themselves ahead of their team when they perform well but have mediocre results. And yes, internally it will after the uninspired 1:1 against Schalke and weak defenses 1: 3 against Eintracht Frankfurt certainly have rattled. Overall, however, it is certainly legitimate to ask the VfB managers the question of quality after seven games without a win. Respectable games and squad potential or not.
How are the new ones doing?
From the early committers Storm newcomers Luca Pfeiffer and Juan Perea not much has been seen so far, which is also due to the manageable operating time. While the first Colombian in VfB history only got 50 minutes of playing time in four appearances, Luca Pfeiffer’s brutal foul and the associated dismissal against Cologne has been remembered so far. After that he had to watch three games.
The strongest impression left in the first games from the HSV committed for about 3.5 million euros Josha Vagnoman. In the victory in the first round of the DFB Cup at Dynamo Dresden, the right-back impressed with deep runs and the assist to make it 1-0. Even after that he was a permanent fixture in the Matarazzo team on the right-hand side. But after the yellow-red card against Schalke, he did not return to the pitch: Bone edema is currently plaguing him. The 21-year-old will be out for an indefinite period.
When Sasa Kalajdzic migrated to Wolverhampton, Serhou Guirassy has been loaned out with an option to buy from Stade Rennes. And the physically strong striker convinced in his starting XI debut against in Munich right away – playfully, as well as nervously: Against Manuel Neuer he heaved the penalty kick into the net to make it 2-2. In the following game against Frankfurt, the Guinean international was rarely staged.
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They are hoping for more stability and flexibility in defense in Stuttgart Dan-Axel Zagadou, who was committed after the end of the transfer. The new “Big Man”, whom Sven Mislintat once steered to BVB and who was introduced there as “one of the greatest football talents in France”, apparently really wants to take on the new challenge in the Bundesliga after years plagued by injuries. Both Zagadou and Guirassy are no newcomers in Germany’s top division. It will be exciting to see whether Matarazzo and his coaching staff can trim the two latecomers to peak performance.
What needs to be improved?
Offensive exploitation of opportunities, the train to the goal and creativity. Defensively, the technical errors, the attention and the individual dropouts that have already cost a few points.
Seven goals after seven games are poor, no question. However, a team like FC Augsburg proves that five goals can be enough for a midfield place. Stuttgart’s problem: Draws in Munich or against Leipzig are nice to look at on paper, but are of little use because the team at the back has caught one or two goals too many.
In the 0-1 draw against Freiburg, Waldemar Anton made an attention error, in the 1-1 draw against Schalke there was largely a lack of train and ideas after Führich’s opening goal, and against Frankfurt three goals conceded are not allowed to come from standards. If Stuttgart don’t minimize their mistakes, they will be stuck in the relegation battle until the end.
Where is VfB Stuttgart headed?
A lot will depend on when VfB finally clinches their first win of the season and whether this then represents the image of the “chest solver” that is often drawn in the industry. The basement duel in Wolfsburg (Saturday, 3.30 p.m.) is almost a “must-win game” for the white-reds, in the following home game against the current leaders Union Berlin, even optimistic chest ring wearers probably don’t plan three points.
It was about time anyway: Competitor Augsburg drove – again – unexpected victories against Bayern and in Leverkusen. VfB proved in Munich, for example, that they have the quality to do so. So far, however, there has been a lack of consistency. A lot will ultimately depend on the little things. So far, only VfL Bochum, VfB opponents on October 15, is considered a clear candidate for relegation. VfB has proven more than once that it has what it takes to be in the middle of the field. But the numbers speak against it: three wins from 24 league games in the entire calendar year 2022 are simply not enough for such a place in the table.
