Alexander Nübel and VfB Stuttgart eager to get going in new season
Part of a VfB Stuttgart side that tore up the script with a second-placed Bundesliga finish last season, goalkeeper Alexander Nübel is overflowing with enthusiasm for what lies ahead in a new campaign with the Swabians.
Despite some high-profile departures during the summer, much will still be expected of Sebastian Hoeneß's side following a 2023/24 campaign in which VfB racked up 23 wins in the Bundesliga, the club's best-ever haul in the top flight.
There is also the prospect of UEFA Champions League football at the Baden-Württemberg-based club in what will be a revamped edition of European club football's elite competition. With the Bayern Munich-owned Nübel tied to Stuttgart for a further two loan seasons, the guarantee of remaining part of his adopted side is a thrilling one for the 27-year-old.
Watch: Nübel shone for Stuttgart last season
"What we achieved [last season], and also the number of points we collected, was phenomenal," the goalkeeper enthused. "The run, the flow we had throughout the whole year was incredible. I hope we can carry that forward along with the spirit within the team, because I believe that next year even better and more exciting games will come, and we're all looking forward to the Champions League and also to the Bundesliga."
A game at Freiburg in the Bundesliga represents three opening away games at the start of this new season for Stuttgart, with last weekend's Supercup disappointment at Bayer Leverkusen and a DFB Cup first-round visit to Preußen Münster coming either side of their top-flight opener. Coach Hoeneß has been a busy man, setting his team up for challenges in several competitions but for Nübel, the Stuttgart tactician has been a key figure in the team's revival from relegation contenders to Bundesliga table-toppers at one stage last term.
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"Communication is really, really important to him," Nübel explained of Hoeneß. "And what makes him particularly stand out is the structure that he sets, which I believe he develops together with the whole coaching team. I’ve experienced several coaches in my professional career, and he really does an exceptionally good job, I must say. I [also] believe that in the end, confidence is a huge key in professional sports. Every player needs confidence, and I believe [Sebastian] gave that to several players, which is why everyone performed so well [last season]. I think our coach is very, very important."
What will be equally important this time around is how well Stuttgart adapt to losing key figures among the playing staff, like last season's top scorer Serhou Guirassy, captain Waldemar Anton (both of whom joined Borussia Dortmund) and defender Hiroki Ito (Bayern Munich). VfB strengthened with - among others - Jeff Chabot and Ermedin Demirović as well as tying down Deniz Undav to a permanent deal. With Nübel also agreeing to stay, there is plenty of promise that Stuttgart can kick on.
"I believe we want to continue what we showed last year," the former Schalke and Monaco 'keeper explained. "That is, playing football, dominance, ball possession, and still being able to quickly switch after winning the ball because I think we were incredibly strong in pressing last year. If we continue to refine that, and the new players get integrated into it, then we will be stronger, have even more depth in the squad, and we will play an important role again."
Watch: VfB came close to upsetting Leverkusen in the Supercup
Fans of Die Schwaben will no doubt thrill in reading those words from the goalkeeper, who kept 14 clean sheets in 35 games in all competitions for the club last season. Said supporters will also relish a return to the Champions League for the first time in 14 years after a season in which Stuttgart picked up two more Bundesliga points than they managed in their championship-winning run of 2006/07.
Playing at the pinnacle of the club game in Europe, "means a lot," for the 6'4" Nübel, who explained "For club football, it's basically the highest trophy you can collect internationally, and I'm excited to be travelling in European competition with the fans. Those will be cool away games, as well as home games, and I'm really looking forward to it."
The disappointment of losing out in the recent Supercup - Stuttgart going down to Bundesliga champions Leverkusen on penalties - followed a tinge of frustration at being left out of Germany's UEFA Euro 2024 squad on home soil. Nübel had made coach Julian Nagelsmann's preliminary list for the tournament, but was ultimately cut. "I was really involved, so of course I was disappointed, but it is what it is," he said. "I was the fourth goalkeeper, and it was clear that I would be the first to be left out, but I still followed [the tournament] very closely."
Those setbacks will only serve to help push Nübel to greater heights between the posts at Stuttgart as he turns his focus towards a 2024/25 season that promises so much.
His goals? "The Champions League. We want to win games [and] of course, we want to try to advance somehow if possible, which will be very, very difficult. In the Bundesliga, we want to play an important role again, bring our dominant style of football back onto the pitch, because then we'll have a lot of fun and collect a lot of points."
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