Baumann: “We showed character today”

Oliver Baumann: “After the season we’ve had, we deserve to be congratulated for staying up. This season was certainly very hard. At one point, we were rock bottom, but we fought our way out. It was very demanding. We were very happy that it didn’t all come down to the final day. The last few weeks have been very nerve-racking and mentally exhausting. Unfortunately, for safety reasons, we were not allowed to go to the fans, which is a real pity because they supported us really well today. We showed character today and held firm.”

Ihlas Bebou: “It is a reasonably positive way to finish the season. It was not easy for us, because Stuttgart played hard to win, but we also wanted to put in our best performance, even though there wasn’t much at stake for us anymore. Our fans pushed us to the final minute. It was a very difficult season for us, but we made it out [of the relegation zone] together. In the end, we deserved to stay up. For me personally, it was not easy due to the long injury. We kept on believing in ourselves and were rewarded for that. Next season, we want to put in better performances so that we don’t have a repeat of this season again.”

Alexander Rosen: “The team showed character today. It makes me proud that despite the fact that the pressure was no longer on, we put in a performance like that. The relief after securing our Bundesliga survival was massive. I am really glad that we came through such a high-pressure situation. Things were not going well on the pitch, but everyone stuck together. The lads once again showed the quality on the pitch that we have seen in the last few weeks of the season. There was a question of whether the team would accept the fact that they were heading towards relegation. The way the lads got out of it impressed me. We had a lot of uncertainty during the season, which created a whirlpool of negativity. I have never enjoyed working with the team more. We are planning for the future and finished the season in an encouraging manner. The changes this summer could be a little bigger than normal. We remain ambitious as a club, but we also know where we are in terms of budget.”

Pellegrino Matarazzo: “I think it was our first undeserved point since I became head coach at Hoffenheim. We were too slow and not active enough in the first half. Even in the second half, we didn’t get a hold of the game, we invited Stuttgart to create opportunities too often. But the team showed their character and fought for the point to the end. We deserved to stay up. Now we can press the reset button and make the right decisions for the next season.”

Sebastian Hoeness (VfB Stuttgart head coach): “We are disappointed with the result, but not necessarily with the performance. We had two great chances to take the lead in the first half. We tweaked a few things at half-time, ideally to take the lead. And we had some good opportunities to score. Then what cannot happen, happens: From TSG’s first real shot on goal, we are 1-0 down. But we coped very well with that blow, equalised quickly and then threw everything we had at them. At the same time, we had to be careful because Hoffenheim fought to the end. Today, there were three ways the season could have finished. Now, we are in the relegation play-off. When I first came here, the relegation play-off was a very attractive goal. Now we are going to give it our all over the two legs.”