Despite a relaxing beer on the way back, Stuttgart coach Sebastian Hoeness must keep a clear head over the coming days.
Restructuring the side seems the most pressing issue for the 41-year-old, and several meetings are scheduled for this week.
In advance of what managing director Fabian Wohlgemuth called an unsparing analysis of the past two years, Hoeness turned into a ray of hope for the side that has been struggling over the past years, having spoiled 17 coaches since 2010, reports Xinhua.
Stuttgart’s hopes rest on the shoulders of the former Hoffenheim coach, who is the side’s fourth coach of the 2022-23 season with only two months and 12 games in charge.
“He has found a quick way to the players’ minds and his approach triggered new confidence,” the club’s chairman Alexander Wehrle stated after having survived the two relegation games against the Hamburger SV.
Hoeness games came along with the encouraging point harvest of 1.83 on average, which ranks the VfB in fifth position and might indicate the club’s option to do much better.
Despite having to enter a relegation battle, the team’s approach saw a significant upswing.
Therefore, Wohlgemuth set up meetings for this week to prepare for the 2023-24 season “in which we want to do everything we can to avoid having to play relegation again.”
Fundamental changes seem ahead as rumours speak about the departure of the team’s cornerstones, such as Croatian international Borna Sosa and Greek international Konstantinos Mavropanos.
The club official spoke about a new goalkeeper as Fabian Bredlow and Florian Muller didn’t manage to meet expectations.
Good news dropped in recently as the club announced the stay of spearhead Serhou Guirassy, coming along with nine million euros Stuttgart paid to French side Stade Rennes.
The 27-year-old striker undoubtedly has his shares when it comes to the successful rescue mission triggered by Hoeness.
The son of former Bayern striker and German international Dieter Hoeness, and the nephew of former Bayern president Uli Hoeness, spoke about the intention to continue travelling on track by taking the VfB back to more stability.
“The recent weeks have been asking for a lot of energy. You can call it brutal and it might need some time to get things back into place, but the success is helping us,” Hoeness said.
The coach and managing director might work on the team balance at first, as the imbalanced squad selection turned into the side’s biggest problem this season.
“We can’t just go on,” Wohlgemuth said, aside from his announcement to increasingly count on homebred talents.
Hoeness spoke of mixed feelings of relief, joy, and emptiness after the duel against the HSV ended 6-1 in aggregate.
The success in Hamburg, for now, triggered an entertaining party with loud music, pizza, and beer in the team’s locker room. After landing in Stuttgart, the club’s future kept minds busy.
20230606-231603
