Difficult times were predicted for Angelo Stiller after the departure of his sponsor Sebastian Hoeneß from TSG Hoffenheim and in fact the talent was of little relevance in the current season for a long time. Now the tide has apparently turned.
Angelo Stiller made bids for TSG in the last two games
IMAGO/foto2press
Because both against SC Freiburg (1: 2) and against Hertha BSC (3: 1), Stiller was in the starting eleven and offered a solid performance (both times kicker grade 3.0). The midfielder even scored in Breisgau. That wasn’t really foreseeable in the weeks before. Stiller commuted between the bench and the stands under new coach Pellegrino Matarazzo, and a contused pelvis slowed him down at times.
In principle, the 21-year-old started the season suboptimal. A torn ligament cost him a large part of the preparation under André Breitenreiter. After the end of his sponsor Hoeneß, who already knew Stiller from the Bayern juniors and who guided him to Hoffenheim free of charge in 2021, the next low blow.
Stiller gave hardly any impetus
When things were going well for TSG, in the first third of the season, Breitenreiter understandably had no need to change. When the club got into the wrong waters, Stiller swam with it. In any case, he hardly gave any impetus, especially in the 2: 4 at Eintracht Frankfurt, in the 1: 3 at 1. FC Union and in the 2: 2 against VfB Stuttgart.
And when sporting director Alexander Rosen also signed Thomas Delaney, an experienced competitor, towards the end of the January transfer window, Stiller’s role as a reservist seemed cemented. Especially since Matarazzo also did without Stiller in the trend-setting duel at FC Augsburg in mid-February and instead preferred Delaney, who was apparently not at 100 percent.
Among other things, his shooting power speaks for the U-21 international
But: The U-21 international, who meets with the DFB selection in the international break against the Japanese and Romanian youth, bit back. In addition to his ability to give the game a structure and to shift it quickly, his shooting power speaks for him offensively. The left-footed player not only demonstrated this with his goal in Freiburg, but also with a cracking finish against Hertha BSC, which Oliver Christensen was able to parry.
Seems Stiller has outstripped his veteran competitor Delaney as a liaison between offense and defense for the time being. How sustainable the new hierarchy is will become apparent when Matarazzo distributes the starting XI mandates for the extremely important showdown with Werder Bremen after the international break.
