Deniz Undav, Maxi Mittelstädt and VfB Stuttgart's key players against Bayer Leverkusen in the 2024 Supercup
If VfB Stuttgart are to overcome the 2023/24 domestic double winners Bayer Leverkusen in the Supercup on Saturday, then their key players will have to perform. bundesliga.com picks out the men who could tip the balance VfB's way.
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Only Leverkusen’s Lukáš Hrádecký (15) kept more clean sheets last season than Nübel (11), the man who has long been tipped as the natural successor to Manuel Neuer at Bayern Munich. He is on loan at Stuttgart from Bayern for the second successive season – and counting his 12 months at Monaco – he’s being ‘borrowed’ for a third consecutive campaign. At almost 28 (his birthday is in September) he is showing why Bayern are not keen to let him go permanently and why Stuttgart are so happy to have him back albeit temporarily.
“Alex has more than met all our expectations from the very first day,” said coach Sebastian Hoeneß. “He gives the whole team security with his calm and in-control demeanour, and has already proven his footballing qualities many times over. You can see that every day he is happy to be in Suttgart and wants to be successful with us.“ And if you now learn Hoeneß said that after the 5-1 Matchday 2 loss to RB Leipzig last season, you can imagine what his boss thinks of Nübel now.
Watch: The best of Alex Nübel
Mittelstädt did not have the best of starts with Stuttgart either, damaging ligaments in his knee in pre-season in summer 2023. Having left his hometown club, Hertha Berlin, after 11 years at the Olympiastadion, there were question marks about his ability to adapt. He soon waylaid them.
When Hiroki Ito got injured in turn, Mittelstädt seized the chance to prove his worth. He tallied four assists, and scored twice, but it was his defensive qualities in a solid backline that really stood out, winning 59 per cent of his challenges – the most of any full-back in the Bundesliga last season.
“He is currently the most reliable left-back in the Bundesliga: extremely good going forward and he has improved defensively unbelievably,” said Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann in March when he called up Mittelstädt for the first time. “You can see in the statistics too that he is by a distance the best left-back in the Bundesliga and one of the top four in the world. So it’s not just a subjective impression, it’s backed up by data.” Little wonder that Mittelstädt also went to UEFA Euro 2024.
Watch: Maxi Mittelstädt on fire at VfB
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The departure of Wataru Endo meant Stuttgart needed someone to step up and become the new midfield boss in front of the defence. Karazor put his hand up and said, “You’re clearly looking for me.”
As a measure of the faith Hoeneß has in him, Karazor started 31 league games last season, winning 56 per cent of his duels and when he has the ball, he rarely loses it, racking up an impressive 92 per cent pass completion ratio.
He is not afraid to roll his sleeves up and he covered 7.27 miles on average per 90 minutes last season, and he will get his hands dirty too – a necessary quality in a ‘number six’ – though the 61 fouls he suffered dwarves the 28 he committed last season.
“Ata takes responsibility on the pitch, organises things, and talks a lot, which is something important for us,“ said former Stuttgart boss Bruno Labbadia to sum up Karazor’s qualities, which have come into even sharper focus under Hoeneß and earned him a two-year contract extension through to 2028 this summer - as well as the captain's armband.
Stiller was a Hoffenheim player when the 2023/24 season kicked off; by the end of it had had played 31 times for Stuttgart and also helped plug the gap left by Endo. After signing Stiller to a four-year deal, Stuttgart’s sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth talked about the new arrival’s "huge development potential.” Stiller soon proved him right by developing very quickly indeed.
While Karazor kept things tight, Stiller offered more going forward. He teed up five goals – a personal best – across the campaign, and provided more shooting opportunities than any of his teammates (49), bar Serhou Guirassy (55).
A combative 56 per cent of duels won blended with a team-high 93 per cent pass completion rate made the Germany U21 midfielder a key figure, a status backed up by the stats that put him behind only Granit Xhaka and Nico Schlotterbeck in terms of touches and passes league-wide.
Like Mittelstädt, Führich caught the eye of Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann so much in the 2023/24 season that he ended it as part of the UEFA Euro 2024 squad. But like Mittelstädt, it must have been an easy choice for Nagelsmann. Even easier perhaps.
A personal best return of eight goals and seven assists in a team-high 33 starts made ignoring Führich all but impossible, while his respectable 47 per cent of duels won suggests his work ethic off the ball is just as impressive as his ability on it.
But at 26, recognition has come late. “I was surprised a player like Chris Führich has not come to the fore sooner,” said Germany and Bayern Munich icon Thomas Müller when Führich joined him in the national squad for Nagelsmann’s first games in charge in October 2023. “I must ask him how his career has gone up to this point, because how can a player with so much trickery and agility, and with good shooting technique, only show his potential regularly at Stuttgart in his mid-20s.”
Watch: Chris Führich in full flow
Stuttgart fans have yet to see Demirović in action for their club, but the record signing’s performances at Augsburg suggest they will be licking their lips at the prospect.
The artful and versatile playmaker will give Hoeneß options in attack, and it says a lot about his character that Augsburg boss Enrico Maaßen named the Bosnia-Herzegovina international club captain before the start of last season.
Only five Bundesliga players found the net more than Demirović, whose 15 league strikes were a club record. He also tallied a team-high nine assists for Augsburg, who would have finished much lower than 11th if it had not been for his efforts as he was involved in nearly 50 per cent of their goals. When you consider he only averaged 28 touches per game last season, he clearly made every one count.
“After the game in Stuttgart, I became a fan of this team,” explained Demirović, who captained the Augsburg side picked apart 3-0 at the MHPArena on Matchday 16 last season. “I like the style of play and the team. I know some of the guys, so I don’t think it’ll take too long for me to settle in.“ Stuttgart fans will be hoping so too.
Watch: Demirović is hoping to be dynamite at VfB
6) Deniz Undav
Undav impressed so much on a loan spell at Stuttgart last season that the 28-year-old earned a first Germany cap only last March. Game time at Euro 2024 followed for the forward, who weighed in with 28 goal involvements (18 goals, 10 assists) for the Swabians in their surge to second place in the Bundesliga last term. Fans fretted over whether the striker would make a loan from English side Brighton permanent in the build-up to an exciting new season at the MHP Arena. Said fans and Undav's wishes came true when Stuttgart reached a deal with the Premier League side for the striker's signature just this month.
Watch: The best of Deniz Undav
“I expressed my wish several times during the second half of [last] season and am pleased it’s finally happened,” Undav told the club's official website following his transfer. “It’s a great feeling and I’m looking forward to the fans and the team,” he added. Undav will no doubt now be hungry to repay Stuttgart's faith by helping his team to Supercup success on Saturday.
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