Joy and relief

Following the decisive win over Bremen, Mario Gomez explained: "The atmosphere in the stadium was amazing. The fans deserve a massive compliment." With their next home win, on matchday 31, the Wasenelf secured their top-flight status for the coming season. At the final whistle, Erik Thommy declared his "delight", whilst Holger Badstuber spoke of a "very good afternoon." Head coach Tayfun Korkut commented: "There is a certain amount of relief there now. It’s a huge boost to the team, trainer team and functional staff, to have secured our status with a win and not have to be keeping an eye on other results." With the right attitude and performances, the team gathered the points that led to the goal being achieved on Saturday. In eleven games under Tayfun Korkut, the Cannstatt Boys have taken 22 points (six wins, four draws, one defeat). During the second half of the season, VfB have secured 25 points – i.e. fourth spot in the table since the winter-break. VfB last took so many points in the latter half of a season during the 2012/2013 campaign.

Training info

This Sunday, the player’s in yesterday’s starting eleven went through a programme of regeneration, whilst the substitutes and those not involved on the day went through a more intensive team session. The team will then enjoy two days of rest, before beginning preparations for next weekend’s away outing in Leverkusen on Wednesday.

Games against the German title holders and Champions League hopefuls

Having assured their top-flight status, VfB have achieved their goal for the season, but the campaign is not yet over. Tayfun Korkut explained with a grin: "We have three games to go, in which our team will give their all – just as they did in the past few matches." And the three games ahead will not be easy: This coming Saturday (kick-off 18:30 CET), VfB travel to Bayer 04 Leverkusen and, in their final home game of the season, the Wasenelf play host to TSG Hoffenheim (May 5^th, 15:30 CET). The Cannstatt Boys will then play in their new home jerseys for the first time, in honour of the club’s 125^th anniversary. The season then comes to an end for Tayfun Korkut’s men against German champions FC Bayern Munich (May 12^th, 15:30 CET).