Stuttgart hopes in Leverkusen for the end of the away misery. However, the personnel issues outshine the game. In addition to that of the trainer, the future of the sports director also seems more open than ever.
Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) - After the final whistle, things really get going at VfB Stuttgart. When and where exactly is still open. But the personnel issues that the Swabian Bundesliga team has to clarify outshine its last competitive game of the year on Saturday (3:30 p.m. / Sky) at Bayer Leverkusen. Can interim coach Michael Wimmer stay on permanently? What will become of sports director Sven Mislintat? For VfB, in addition to important points in the fight against relegation, there are also key decisions for the future.
"I'm not concerned with what's after Leverkusen," emphasized Wimmer on Friday. The 42-year-old was once again trying to focus on the sport, warning among other things about the “brutal quality” of the upcoming opponent and demanding from his own team “that we are brave. That will be the key.”
However, Wimmer was able to elicit a small interim conclusion from his previous work as a transitional boss in Stuttgart. "We played six games. We won four, won all home games, progressed one round in the cup. Training with the lads is fun, they're doing really well, so I would rate what's happened now as positive ", he summed up. "There are a lot of fluctuations. Our goal is to stop them," he also emphasized. So far there have been two defeats in two games away from home under Wimmer's direction. At home, too, he noticed "fluctuations".
Sports director Mislintat was recently full of praise for Wimmer. What it is ultimately worth remains to be seen. After the Leverkusen game, they will "sit down and see what happens to me personally," said Wimmer. "As of now, I am assuming that I will also fly to America." As of now, it is also planned that Mislintat will go on the week-long PR trip to the USA on Monday and that VfB CEO Alexander Wehrle will not because of his participation in the DFL general meeting.
However, Mislintat's future is not yet clear given his contract expires on June 30, 2023. Which raises several questions: When exactly should negotiations actually take place? With who first? Should Mislintat not be extended and leave in the summer at the latest, will he still be included in the coaching decision? If VfB doesn't answer at least some of these questions at the weekend, they are threatened with a journey into the unknown in the truest sense of the word on Monday.
Captain Wataru Endo, who suffered a concussion against Hertha BSC (2-1), will miss VfB's last attempt to win a league away win in 2022 in Leverkusen. After all, the World Cup use of the Japanese is probably not at risk. Central defender Konstantinos Mavropanos, the last-minute winner against Berlin, is also absent this time due to a yellow card suspension. Pascal Stenzel is missing on the right back because of flu. On the left, the Croatian Borna Sosa is out due to muscular problems.
The personal worries in Stuttgart's defense - even if right-back Josha Vagnoman, according to Wimmer, is again a starting eleven candidate - are once again considerable. In the offensive, Silas Katompa Mvumpa also has to pass at short notice due to a strain, as announced by VfB. In view of the personnel ambiguities in the management floor, the failures are a little lost.
