VfB Stuttgart prepare for familiar faces against Galatasaray in the UEFA Champions League
VfB Stuttgart will aim to continue their unbeaten start to the UEFA Champions League campaign when they travel to Galatasaray on Tuesday (kick-off: 6.45pm CET). The reigning Turkish champions, though, are full of familiar faces thanks to a host of Bundesliga alumni, including a four-time Meisterschale winner…
Stuttgart have enjoyed a strong start to the Champions League campaign, winning their opening two matches before picking up a point against Atlético Madrid last time out. Galatasaray, meanwhile, ended a two-game losing start to the league phase with a 4-2 victory at Lille on Matchday 3.
Victor Osimhen was on the scoresheet in that match, having come a long way since his beginnings at Wolfsburg. The Nigeria international made his first steps in professional football at the Volkswagen Arena in 2017, but ultimately failed to find the back of the net across 16 matches for the club in all competitions.
He may not have made the cut with the Wolves, but he has been a success story ever since. The centre-forward enjoyed good spells at Charleroi and Lille before joining Napoli ahead of 2020/21, and helped them to the 2022/23 Serie A title, their first league title since Diego Maradona’s heyday of the 1980s. In Türkiye since 2024, he has an impressive 68 goals in 83 appearances to further establish himself as one of Europe’s most prolific strikers.
Regarding his time in Germany, Osimhen explained in 2023: “It wasn't easy for me. But I don't see it as a negative experience. Wolfsburg was a very educational time for me. Wolfsburg was a good opportunity for me to grow. I also learned from those setbacks, and it made me who I am today.”
In contrast, İlkay Gündoğan’s time in Germany was more productive. A Bochum academy graduate, the Gelsenkirchen-born midfielder spent two years at Nuremberg, but it was during five years at Borussia Dortmund where he made his name. He was part of Jürgen Klopp’s 2011/12 title-winning team, and also scored in the Champions League final a year later.
He went on to win a hatful of trophies in England with Manchester City prior to his move to Istanbul and the homeland of his parents. Gündoğan also captained Germany before his international retirement in 2024.
Leroy Sané, meanwhile, had two memorable stints in the Bundesliga. He burst onto the scene at Schalke and, after three impressive campaigns, made the switch to City in England. Once he had filled his trophy cabinet, he returned to Germany with Bayern Munich in 2020 and picked up four more league titles. At international level, he has 80 caps for Germany and has featured at two FIFA World Cups.
Watch: The best of Leroy Sané
Those three are the stand-out names, but numerous other players with Bundesliga connections will be hoping to get the better of Sebastian Hoeneß and Co. Rolland Sallai spent six years at Freiburg between 2018 and 2024, racking up 120 appearances, and is now one of Gala’s key men on the right side of the back four.
On the opposite flank, Ismail Jakobs is the first choice, featuring in all 12 of Galatasaray’s games this season. It was at boyhood club Cologne where he broke through as a professional, though, making his senior debut in 2019 before departing in 2021 with four goals in 45 outings.
RB Leipzig fans will be intrigued to see if El Chadaille Bitshiabu gets a first run-out for his new club. The centre-back moved to Galatasaray on loan in the summer with an option to buy after three years and 48 appearances in Germany, but has yet to be used.
Schalke, Eintracht Frankfurt and Fortuna Düsseldorf supporters hoping to see ex-defender Kaan Ayhan will be disappointed, though, as he has not been named in Galatasaray’s Champions League squad for this season.
Elsewhere, former Stuttgart Kickers custodian Günay Güvenç is a back-up goalkeeper and could be named on the bench, but former Borussia Mönchengladbach youth player Armando Güner will not participate given he, like Ayhan, is not eligible. Eyüp Aydin, once of Bayern’s academy, is in the same boat.
