VfB Stuttgart: Hoeneß talks about the contract and recruiting other clubs

On course for Europe

Saved VfB Stuttgart from relegation in relegation last season and is now on course for the Champions League: The Swabians’ development under coach Sebastian Hoeneß is remarkable. The 41-year-old now spoke in detail about his contract situation and the recruitment of other clubs and explained what he had learned from coaches like Pep Guardiola, Huub Stevens and Roberto De Zerbi.

With 34 points, VfB is in third place in the Bundesliga after 16 match days, ahead of teams like RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund. In the last seven competitive games, the Hoeneß team has only lost out against FC Bayern. With Serhou Guirassy and Deniz Undav, they have the most dangerous duo after Munich’s Harry Kane and Leroy Sané (statistics) and are also in the DFB Cup quarter-finals. Still, there’s no reason for the coach to take off: “I’m very happy with the development. But I also know that things can change quickly in football. That’s why I approach things with a clear, realistic assessment and communicate this internally and externally. I think it’s absolutely okay that the fans are dreaming and euphoric. But our job is to stay with ourselves and our work. If I have the feeling that we are abandoning our path, I will take countermeasures,” said Hoeneß in an interview with the magazine “Kicker”.

Accordingly, he doesn’t even let thoughts of qualifying for international business for the first time since the 2012/13 season (for statistics) arise. “I haven’t thought about that for a second. It’s important that we move in the here and now,” emphasized the 41-year-old, for whom VfB is the second Bundesliga stop after his almost two-year stint at TSG Hoffenheim.

With 2.1 points per game, Hoeneß now has the best points average of all Stuttgart trainers whose tenure lasted more than twelve games (for an overview). The son of former VfB, Wolfsburg and Hertha manager Dieter Hoeneß revealed that in his work he benefits greatly from the experiences he gained in the past by shadowing well-known coaches. “I wanted to develop further and learn from the best. I was with Pep Guardiola in Munich before I moved from RB Leipzig to FC Bayern, during my internship on the football teacher training course. The connection to Hermann Gerland, who was an assistant coach at the time and later advocated for me to move to FC Bayern, also developed in Munich. I was with Thomas Tuchel in Mainz at the time when he and his team were so successful. And I sat in on Huub Stevens at RB Salzburg.”

With Stevens, for example, he “talked a lot about leadership. The time with Thomas Tuchel was also very interesting. And Pep Guardiola was impressive with his passion and fascination for football. I was a young guy, an intern, but he was 100 percent involved in our exchange and explained his point of view to me. Bayern football back then was extraordinary. I was in the right place at the right time. Ralf Rangnick in particular had a strong influence on me in Leipzig.”

Hoeneß also learned a lot from Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi in terms of playing style and tactics. “I noticed him at Shakhtar Donetsk. I followed his football and his journey and made contact after my time at Hoffenheim. The exchange was very exciting, (…), he has a playful, possession-oriented approach that I like. That’s why elements of that certainly flowed into my thoughts.”

VfB coach Hoeneß with the best record since the 2006/07 championship season

Under his direction, Stuttgart had its best record since the last championship season in 2006/07 – back then, Armin Veh’s team was in third place in the table after 16 match days, but had three points less (for an overview). It is well known that Hoeneß has long been on the radar of other clubs, not least because of his recent track record. His contract with the Swabians runs until 2025. The fact that he is associated with clubs is “a confirmation for all of us, for the work we are doing together here. That’s how I classify it. Not otherwise. (…) I have a contract and I make no secret of the fact that I feel very comfortable here. It doesn’t make sense for us as a team or for me as a coach to look too far into the future.”

The Munich native was similarly pragmatic about his current contract situation: “There have been no discussions about that yet. I still have a contract that runs until 2025. That’s a long time for a coach. There’s not much to say about it other than I feel very comfortable. I think that shows.”

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