After crisis meeting
Now it’s official: Bruno Labbadia’s second term at VfB Stuttgart lasted just twelve games. The Swabians announced the separation from the 57-year-old coach on Monday afternoon after a crisis meeting of the executives around CEO Alexander Wehrle and sports director Fabian Wohlgemuth. Labbadia took over from interim coach Michael Wimmer in December, who in turn replaced Pellegrino Matarazzo, who was now employed in Hoffenheim. Former TSG coach Sebastian Hoeneß, who has signed until 2025 according to the club announcement, takes over from Labbadia.
Hoeneß looked after the Sinsheimers between August 2020 and the end of June 2022 and scored an average of 1.42 points in 81 competitive games. Before that he had celebrated the championship in the 3rd division with Bayern Munich II. Should Matarazzo remain as Hoffenheim coach until the end of the season, the two coaches who were with the other club in the last second half of the season would face each other in a direct clash between VfB and TSG on the 34th Bundesliga matchday. As a player, Hoeneß was once on the ball for VfB himself as a youth. His father Dieter Hoeneß played for the Swabians between 1975 and 1979 and was their manager between 1990 and 1995.
“We thank Bruno Labbadia for the work he has done. We signed Bruno last December because we were firmly convinced that we could turn things around with him. Bruno worked with the team from day one with great commitment and great passion, but unfortunately this didn’t pay off in the form of points. Ultimately, we came to the realization that we needed a new impetus,” says VfB boss Wehrle. “Sebastian Hoeneß has already gained important experience in the Bundesliga and, as a coach, knows the youth and transition areas very well. We are sure that Sebastian is the right coach for the upcoming challenges and that he will master this difficult situation together with the team.”
Stuttgart’s Wohlgemuth: Sebastian Hoeneß not only a real VfB coach for a short time
Wohlgemuth said: “Bruno Labbadia accepted the great challenge last December. Under difficult circumstances, he tried many things to get the team back on the road to success. The turnaround didn’t work out and despite good performances in some cases, we continued to lose ground in the fight for staying up in the league in the past few weeks. We thank Bruno for his commitment to VfB and wish him all the best for the future.”
With Hoeneß, VfB want to set a development in motion: “It’s about the immediate effect, but also about what we want to push at VfB beyond the season. Sebastian Hoeneß has proven that he can lead teams and at the same time have a very positive influence on the development of individual players. As a coach, Sebastian knows both how to deal with top talents in the youth field and professional football – he will quickly find the right approach. With this profile and the way he works, he is the right man for us. We are delighted that Sebastian has decided to join VfB and together with him we will do everything we can to make the fight for relegation a success.”
Hoeneß, on the other hand, said: “I’m really looking forward to the challenge at VfB and thank you for the trust and the good discussions with those responsible. I have a great emotional connection to VfB. I was a fan of the club when I was young, I played here myself for several years and won the German championship title in 1999 with the U17s. We now have three tasks, in this order: 1. To make the cup game in Nuremberg a success. 2. to stay up in the Bundesliga. 3. to carry out a clear analysis together with the sporting management at the end of the season in order to take the necessary steps for a successful future for VfB Stuttgart.”
As a possible Labbadia successor, “Bild” first brought up Markus Gisdol, while “Kicker” wrote that this was just as impossible as Felix Magath’s engagement. The magazine reported that Ludovic Magnin, who played for VfB from 2005 to 2009, is a candidate. On Monday, the magazine also named Alexander Blessin. In the end, it wasn’t one of these supposed candidates, but Hoeneß.
VfB-Bank since 2010: only Labbadia & Matarazzo cracked the 100-game mark
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