As previously announced, the VfB sporting management has conducted a comprehensive analysis of the 2022/23 season. Sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth and his team have pored over the facts and figures of the past campaign and evaluated the organisational framework, structures and personnel situation of the club’s professional department.
Wohlgemuth: “Essentially, it’s about making up ground when it comes to inconsistencies in performance, efficiency and resilience – characteristics that are all related to team maturity. Identifying those as our three main areas of improvement is nothing new, which makes it all the more important for us to address each of those areas in the right manner, both in terms of tactics and, of course, improving our squad in the upcoming transfer windows. There was probably no other side that fell as far short of their expectations as we did. There are clear differences, for example, between ourselves and our rivals when it comes to efficiency at both ends of the pitch. Since the arrival of Sebastian Hoeneß and his coaching staff, there have been encouraging developments in that regard.”
New scouts for VfB
The analysis has already led to personnel changes among the coaching and backroom staff, including the acquisition of an additional assistant coach in Malik Fathi. There are several new faces among VfB’s scouts, too, with Thomas Henning (an arrival from Paderborn), Andreas Herrmann (Manchester United) and Stefan Brandenburger (VfL Wolfsburg) completing Markus Lösch’s team.
VfB CEO Alexander Wehrle: “Training and developing players who, at some point, want to move elsewhere for sporting or financial reasons, and end up leaving VfB when the financial package is attractive enough for us, is part of the process. Even so, in the coming years we want to place more emphasis on building our team around a core of players who have been at VfB for years and who identify with our club and the region for reasons other than their contract. We obviously hope to see as many homegrown players as possible make the step up from our youth development centre to the first team in the coming years.”
Supervisory board to decide on sporting director
At their last meeting, Alexander Wehrle advised the VfB Stuttgart 1893 AG supervisory board to appoint a board member for sport. The supervisory board has begun the process of taking Wehrle up on his recommendation.
Wehrle: “Despite managing to stay in the division, I’m convinced we can’t afford to carry on as before at VfB and that our circumstances require a different structure. From the outset, my responsibility for the sporting department was meant to be a transitional solution that should under no circumstances extend beyond 2024. Implementing that change sooner rather than later would make me very happy.”
Claus Vogt, chairman of the supervisory board and VfB president: “As CEO, Alexander Wehrle bears overall responsibility for ensuring a sustainable and successful strategic approach for VfB Stuttgart. In order to guarantee VfB are kept on a sustainable, stable footing in sporting terms on the back of two disappointing campaigns, we’re shifting the goalposts in our professional football department, which is our bread and butter. That’s the background to the supervisory board’s decision to initiate the process of identifying and appointing a board member for sport who suits VfB and the club’s direction.”