Show for Germany just because four VfB Stuttgart players have been called up for the upcoming international matches in France and against the Netherlands? That’s not how it works at the movement games club. A club name that everyone who represented the Swabians on the pitch of their Baden rival TSG Hoffenheim on Saturday evening filled with life.
Whether it was Chris Führich, who had already played for Germany, or the debutants-to-be Waldemar Anton, Maximilian Mittelstädt and Deniz Undav: They celebrated an impressive home game in the club with their colleagues and more than 5,000 VfB fans from an away game in which the third-placed team played eighth in the table The atmosphere took over and pulled out all the stops so confidently and enthusiastically that in the end there was a rousing 3-0 win with goals from Enzo Millot (16th minute), Serhou Guirassy (45th + 1) and Jamie Leweling (68th), which almost inadequately reflected the dominance of VfB.
If the national coach Julian Nagelsmann had watched this whimsical game between Stuttgart and its convincing novices, he now knows even better than before that he has invited the right people from the country.
As almost always, Anton was convincing as a defensive leader and pass provider in the game; Mittelstädt, this time primarily used as a left defender and not as a bridge player between defense and offense, fulfilled his tasks professionally and carefully; Führich, his partner on the left, initiated the first goal by outplaying his Hoffenheim opponent several times and then passing to Guirassy, who passed the ball to Undav, who put Millot in shooting position to strike at the end of a cleverly staged attack . And Undav? The currently best German goalscorer in the Bundesliga with 14 goals played the ball into the path of Millot and Guirassy so sensitively when they scored that the goals to make it 1-0 and 2-0 were inevitable.
Undav: “Is someone kidding me?”
The North German from a Kurdish family is experiencing a football fairytale in his first Bundesliga season, which may include promotion to the German national team position next Saturday in Lyon. He earned it with consistently strong performances.
Undav, who seemed fundamentally positive, was asked on Saturday what it was like when the national coach called him a few days ago. “I was lying in bed, completely chilled,” said the attacker and spoke of a call to which he initially did not respond until he discovered the name Nagelsmann when looking at the call list. “Then my first thought was, is someone kidding me? But it really was him and he wished me luck. Afterwards I was overjoyed, but otherwise everything was relaxed.”
Staying relaxed is one of the characteristics of this street footballer on the finest Bundesliga pitch, and that’s why he wants to stay completely within himself even in his national uniform. “For me, goals and assists are of equal value,” he emphasized on Saturday. “It’s always fun, the main thing is that we win.” He doesn’t worry about whether he’ll be needed in the national team straight away. “Just because I provided two assists today doesn’t mean that I will now be a regular player. But when I come in, I hope I come in with 100 percent energy.”
Deniz Undav, Waldemar Anton (“I’m looking forward to being able to compete with the best”) and Maxmilian Mittelstädt, the third debutant-to-be (“I want to give it my all in training at the DFB and, if possible, play”) are looking forward to their new one Football adventures. Also the Hoffenheim goalkeeper Oliver Baumann, who has often been part of the elite selection of the German Football Association (DFB) but is still waiting for his first international match. On Saturday, the Hoffenheim captain was at least able to prove his suitability for the national team under the pressure of the almost constant Stuttgart attack. Unlike the unfortunate DFB debutant Maximilian Beier, who seemed completely exhausted in the end and, like most Hoffenheimers, fell far short of his expectations. “I’ll take him by the hand now,” said the experienced keeper about the 21-year-old attacker, who is often so fast-paced, “he’s a good boy, we’ll get it right.”
The Stuttgart professionals, on the other hand, enjoyed their last day of work before the two-week break in the Bundesliga. With a performance that brought pure joy to everyone. What was particularly pleasing to sports director Fabian Wohlgemuth, who, along with coach Sebastian Hoeneß, was the architect of VfB’s recent success story, was the light-as-a-bone seriousness with which the players did their duty for the freestyle, even with the prospect of new experiences in the national uniform. “We have decided,” said Wohlgemuth, “that the next milestone should be our game in Hoffenheim. Obviously it worked well.”
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And that in a week in which the club’s president, Claus Vogt, was voted out as chairman of the supervisory board and his colleagues on the executive board had also distanced themselves from Vogt. “The topic,” said Wohlgemuth, “doesn’t affect the sporting area at all. The sporting success will help everyone pull together again soon.” Maybe.
