Asked whether the meeting with reigning Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich in the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup on Saturday represented an addition pre-season friendly or an opportunity to win the first piece of silverware of the campaign, VfB Stuttgart head coach Sebastian Hoeneß left no room for doubt at his pre-match press conference.
“We had a taste of it last year and went close,” he said. “This time we want to win the title.”
The tactician is well aware of what is needed in order to do so: “We’re facing one of the best teams in Europe, but the match lasts 90 minutes, and maybe even longer if it goes to penalties. We have to push beyond our limits and be ready. We shouldn’t go into it thinking that Bayern will come to Stuttgart out of form given their short pre-season.”
Hoeneß largely has a full squad available to him for Saturday’s showdown. Alexander Nübel (elbow), Leonidas Stergiou (fitness after foot surgery) and Silas (fitness after an ankle injury) will all miss out, but Angelo Stiller has returned to team training and, assuming all goes well in the final session on Friday, will be included in the matchday squad.
The fact that the majority of his players stayed injury-free in pre-season was particularly pleasing for Hoeneß: “We had a couple of minor issues in the first few weeks, but we're in good shape now.”
All of which has left the coach eagerly anticipating his team’s first competitive game of 2025/26: “There’s something at stake again finally, and that makes emotions run high. That’s why we play football.”