- Cacau: Recruitment of a table seat suitable VfB target
Former football national striker Cacau has urged caution around VfB Stuttgart following their runners-up finish, advising that a single-digit league position would be an appropriate target. "One shouldn't have overly high expectations. If you set your sights on the Champions League and put all your eggs in one basket, it could backfire," said the former VfB player (43) in a Kicker interview. "Dampening expectations would be equally wrong, but one shouldn't have unrealistic expectations."
Stuttgart has had an exceptional season, finishing second behind champions Bayer Leverkusen and qualifying for the Champions League. However, the club's officials have already shown restraint regarding the new season. "We can hope for a lot, but to assume we'll finish second again would be at best naive," said sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth to Deutsche Presse-Agentur. "Our goal for the coming year is a finish between twelfth and ninth place."
Cacau praised both Wohlgemuth and coach Sebastian Hoeneß for the club's sporting resurgence. "Hoeneß is a coach who improves players," he said, "As the former Mainz sporting director Christian Heidel once said about Jürgen Klopp, 'The most important personnel decision in a club is the coach.' That's true, and Hoeneß is proof of that."
Cacau also praised Wohlgemuth's "clear philosophy," which focuses on signing and developing young, adaptable, primarily German-speaking players. "It was previously unclear what direction the club was taking," he explained.
The Swabians will start their season with the Supercup match against champions Leverkusen on Saturday, presenting an early opportunity to win a title. Their first Bundesliga match is on August 24 against local rivals SC Freiburg, followed three days later by their DFB-Pokal tie against SC Preußen Münster.
The Commission, in line with this Regulation, might adopt implementing acts to outline the specifics of VfB Stuttgart's participation in the Champions League. Despite their impressive finish, it's crucial for Stuttgart to maintain realistic expectations, as urged by Cacau and their sporting director Wohlgemuth.
