Hundreds of questions rained in through the social-media pages and club channels from interested fans and club members. The questions were then bundled and sorted before being presented to the VfB coach on Thursday evening in the home dressing room in the Mercedes-Benz Arena. In an interview, broadcast live on the VfB Facebook and YouTube channels, as well VfB TV, Tayfun Korkut gave an open and honest insight into operations behind the scenes. The “Stuttgart lad” made it undoubtedly clear as to how important exchanges with the fans are to him.
VfB head-coach Tayfun Korkut on...
Family and freetime: "I have three children who need me. When I have them around me, that’s very relaxing. When I am at home, I invest all my energy in my family."
His southern roots: "My time in Spain had a particular effect on me. I really enjoy going and eating in good company. My favourite restaurant is in San Sebastian – you can really eat well there. Spanish, or in particular Basque, cuisine is really delicious."
His Swabian homeland and mentality: "I feel very comfortable here – it’s where I grew up. Stuttgart is home to me. My parents came here to work and build a life. Effort, hard work, discipline – those are the virtues I grew up with and they are deeply rooted inside me."
His trainer idol: "Carlos Alberto Parreira, my first coach at Fenerbahçe Istanbul and a Brazilian world champion, Jogi Löw and naturally also Vicente del Bosque really impressed and affected me. They were very important for me in how they guided their teams."
His decision to join VfB: "The talks I held with the president and the sporting director were very positive. It all slotted together – not least as I grew up and still live here. That was decisive in me not having to think about it for too long."
His first weeks as VfB head-coach: "I really felt the solidarity in all areas right from the outset. Within the team and the club, things were calm from day one. We had great support from all employees and those around the team. That made starting easier. That solidarity was quickly and very well implemented by the team."
The collaboration between the team and the fans: "The team can really feel the energy oozing from the Cannstatter Kurve. We had a great combination between the fans and the team in recent weeks. The fans can really sense that the team are giving their all and pushing themselves to their limits. We want to maintain that connection and need both sides to do so."
The international break: "We are trying to make use of the time to give the players that have remained here the opportunity to relax, so that they can work on themselves. The past few days have gone very well – the lads are not just putting their feet up or taking a step back, but rather they are really pushing themselves in training. That’s proof that we are on the right track and maintaining the eagerness."
The up-coming home game against HSV: "We should be looking to pick up where we have left off in recent weeks. The consistency of the past few weeks must be maintained in every second of the match. The close union we have makes us very difficult to beat at home. If we can win that game, it would be the quickest route. However, we will need a top performance and to be just as concentrated as we were against Leipzig. We need to prevent them from getting their game-plan into action and see to it that we create enough chances to win the game."
Target for the season: "We cannot afford to forget that we are a newly promoted side. All that counts is survival. We are very close to achieving that now and we want to do so as quickly as possible. Anything beyond that is a bonus. I cannot prevent the expectations, but we should try to remember where we have come from and where we were just seven weeks ago. We are not home and dry just yet, but we want to take the necessary points as quickly as possible so that we can begin planning for next season."