In the 1-2 draw against FC Bayern, Silas, the only VfB Stuttgart striker, had a difficult time.
Stuttgart’s Silas (left) had a difficult time against FC Bayern.
IMAGO/Eibner
It’s been a few months since Silas Katompa Mvumpa’s last truly outstanding performance, which does justice to the fundamental skill of this attacking artist. It was the 4:1 against VfL Bochum, where Silas played sensationally. Playful, tricky, efficient in the end. On that day, the 24-year-old was allowed to play in his favorite position, the right flank.
On Saturday against FCB Bruno Labbadia ordered him to the top. Definitely not the best position for Silas. “It’s always a question of alternatives,” justified the coach. Serhou Guirassy is missing from all corners after a tendon tear. Luca Pfeiffer seemed unsettled recently. “I would have wished that one or the other ball had been secured more,” said sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth, when asked about Silas after the final whistle. Sure, the attacker was largely in the air, and a sole target player naturally has a difficult position, especially when the opponents are Matthijs de Ligt and Dayot Upamecano. For the sake of completeness, Labbadia and Wohlgemuth also underlined the difficulty of the mission because of the quality of the Bayern central defenders.
“That’s a problem, there’s too little”
But it is more than obvious that the search for Silas is twofold: the player himself is currently not finding his form, to which the use of other positions does not necessarily contribute. Because with every unsuccessful action, self-confidence dwindles a little. The naturalness that a street footballer like Silas needs for his game suffers as a result. But in the absence of Guirassy, Labbadia is also looking for a halfway functioning cast of the nine. The coach demands more from his striker: “He doesn’t quite bring the pace as we would like. But that’s independent of the position, he doesn’t quite bring it on the outside like you’ve seen at VfB has. That’s a problem, there’s too little.”
Guirassy is still out
In the traditionally heated Bad Cannstatt, this is sometimes interpreted as (too) harsh criticism of a potential difference player. Perhaps the fact that Labbadia still relies on the dribbler shows the great confidence in his abilities. Especially since on the other hand you can expect a 24-year-old to call up his qualities more reliably than last time. Labbadia announced that Guirassy will not really be counted on in the next two games at Eintracht Frankfurt and against VfL Wolfsburg. So it’s high time that the double search ended.
