'Incredible fans' and 'no egos' - the keys to VfB Stuttgart's success
Having had their first taste of UEFA Champions League football in 14 years last term, VfB Stuttgart are on course to secure a swift return to Europe’s top table next season.
With 21 points from their opening 10 games, fourth-placed Stuttgart have picked up where they left off at the end of the 2024/25 campaign, when they beat Arminia Bielefeld at Berlin’s Olympiastadion to lift the DFB Cup for the fourth time in their history.
Juggling the joint demands of domestic and continental football proved a struggle at times for the 2023/24 Bundesliga runners-up, who had to make do with a ninth-placed Bundesliga finish and an early Champions League exit last term.
Watch: Stuttgart 3-2 Augsburg - Matchday 10 highlights
However, the opening months of the current campaign suggest Sebastian Hoeneß’s young but maturing squad are far better equipped to challenge on three fronts this time around.
One of the keys to Stuttgart’s early-season success has been their remarkable home form, which has produced seven wins from as many games so far in all competitions – not including their defeat to Bayern Munich in the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup in August.
Borussia Mönchengladbach, St. Pauli, Heidenheim and Mainz have all left the MHP Arena empty-handed, while Celta Vigo and Feyenoord were dispatched in the league phase of the UEFA Europa League.
“The passion and emotions we show on the pitch, and in our mindset, rub off on our fans and vice-versa,” summer signing Tiago Tómas replied when asked to explain Stuttgart’s home record in an interview with vfb.de. “Those aspects play a key role for us.”
Striker Deniz Undav was more succinct in his response, telling reporters earlier this month: “Our fans are just incredible!”
Bayern are the only other German top-flight club with a 100 percent record in front of their own supporters this season, but that is not where the similarities with the Bundesliga leaders end.
Hoeneß’s charges have registered more attempts at goal (57) and averaged more possession (60 percent) than any other side apart from the Bavarians this season, underlining their free-flowing, front-foot approach under the 43-year-old tactician.
They are more than happy to seek out a more direct route to goal when the situation demands it, though. Only Mainz have racked up more crosses from open play than Die Schwaben, who have registered 116 such deliveries across their opening 10 league games.
That flexibility is another hallmark of this Stuttgart side, who have had to contend with injuries to a number of key players in the opening months of 2025/26 – particularly in the forward department.
Undav, fellow Germany international Jamie Leweling and striker Ermedin Demirović have all had spells on the sidelines, with the latter fracturing a bone in his foot against Heidenheim last month.
The form of summer signings Tómas, Bilal El Khannouss, Chema Andrés and Lorenz Assignon in particular have helped soften the blow, but Stuttgart’s focus under Hoeneß will always be firmly trained on the collective.
“We don’t have any egos in the team,” Tomás explained. “We all fight together to achieve the same goals. Solidarity is one of our main values at VfB.”
Watch: The best of Bilal El Khannouss
“[Our success] is down to the whole team,” agreed Hoeneß. “All our players have played their part with their performances and commitment.”
Solidarity and commitment are likely to come in very handy over the next three weeks, with Stuttgart taking on Borussia Dortmund and Hamburg away before welcoming Bayern to the MHP Arena in early December.
Watch: Stuttgart heading to Dortmund in fine form
It may have seemed like a daunting run of fixtures not so long ago, but Hoeneß and his players will be backing themselves to pick up maximum points from those three games and cement their place in the upper echelons of the Bundesliga table.
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