Alongside Bayer Leverkusen, VfB Stuttgart have been the big surprise this season. The Swabians have established themselves at the top, now VfB boss Alexander Wehrle has spoken
In an interview with “Bild”, the 46-year-old expressed his satisfaction with the club’s development. This is also due to coach Sebastian Hoeneß. “With Sebastian, you can see what idea he has of soccer and how he convinces the team of it,” said Wehrle, revealing that VfB is receiving recognition nationwide – and not just because of its strong position in the table, but because of the “attractive game. It’s simply fun for everyone to watch.”
Hoeneß is confident that the coach will remain with the Swabians in the future: “He identifies 100 percent with VfB.” The project is also not a short-term one, rather the aim is to “develop something together. That is a longer process.”
However, Wehrle did not want to completely rule out the possibility of Hoeneß leaving prematurely. He is not someone “who says: ‘Basta, you stay here’. That doesn’t get anyone anywhere in life, that’s no way to deal with each other. “
No sign of Guirassy
Serhou Guirassy also attracted a lot of attention in this first half of the season. 17 goals, three assists and a remarkable grade point average of 2.62 have been recorded for the attacker so far – unsurprisingly, the Guinean has probably popped up on the radar of other clubs. However, Wehrle is not afraid of losing the striker.
The CEO emphasized that the 27-year-old already had “offers from abroad in the summer, where he could have earned significantly more money”, but that Guirassy was “primarily interested in playing soccer in a functioning team”. He has that in Stuttgart. Wehrle also revealed that he personally “sees no signs” that the striker wants to leave the club. Hoeneß recently made similar comments on the subject.
Wehrle also went into more detail about Stuttgart’s goals. The current good run is “not just a snapshot in time”, but it is not something to rest on, because the long-term goal is clear. “By 2026, we want to be a stable Bundesliga club that doesn’t oscillate between the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga.” However, this also requires an economic foundation – which is probably why Wehrle is in favor of a DFL investor. VfB also recently voted in favor, although they were still against it in the first vote in the summer.
“The approach and model have changed,” explained Wehrle, stating that the original model would have “widened the economic gap between the clubs even further” due to its approach of “direct distribution to the clubs”. This is now regulated differently. “We are now only talking about investments in the Bundesliga and no longer about direct distributions to the clubs.”
And the league needs “investment in order to remain internationally competitive”. For Wehrle, it is clear that if “no investment at all” is permitted, then, in addition to the English league, which is already behind, “possibly the Spanish, Italian and French leagues” could also leave the Bundesliga behind. “The crucial thing is that we want to continue to see good, competitive soccer in Germany. If we lose all our players to England or Saudi Arabia in the future, it’s not just bad for the fans, but for all stakeholders in the Bundesliga. “
