Sebastian Hoeneß has many reasons to remain with Stuttgart | OneFootball

Speculation linking VfB Stuttgart head coach Sebastian Hoeneß with moves to either Bayer Leverkusen or RB Leipzig in the summer continue to swirl. This may nevertheless still amount to nothing. In an editorial published today, Kicker’s Benni Hofmann suggests otherwise and details why the 42-year-old might be staying put in Swabia.

Hoeneß will shortly be commemorating the two-year-anniversary of his appointment as Stuttgart head coach. Brought in to replace the embarrassingly bad coaching regime of Bruno Labbadia in April 2023, the famous nephew of Uli Hoeneß and son of Dieter Hoeneß first rescued VfB via the promotion-relegation playoffs at the end of the 2023/24 campaign.

When (in April 2024) Stuttgart seemed destined for Champions League football, Hoeneß was awarded with a new contract. It’s common knowledge that the deal contained an exit clause. It’s nevertheless also generally known that the clause expires at the end of April 2025. Hoeneß may not be keen to make a decision over his future so soon.

Reports linking Leverkusen head coach Xabi Alonso with a move to either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid seem overblown in light of Vincent Kompany’s success at the former club and the latter’s commitment to Carlo Ancelotti. Leipzig (and even Dortmund) links don’t provide Hoeneß with stable situations.

The former Bayern II coach surely hasn’t forgotten the pain of his two years in charge of Hoffenheim. Hoeneß had to contend with a poorly balanced squad. The team he inherited sputtered in the Europa League and failed to qualify for Europe in his two seasons in charge.

“Sebastian Hoeneß is entitled to express his wishes to the sporting management [board-member-for-sport Fabian Wolhgemuth and sporting director Christian Gentner], with desire to squad composition,” Hofmann writes. “And these wishes are usually heard.

“The notion that ‘Hoeneß will only stay on if the team qualifies for European competition again’ seems to have been taken too seriously in recent days,” Hofmann continues. “There are little prospects elsewhere and the club that he wrote an incredible story with has a lot to offer him.

“There’s reason to believe that [Honeneß’] story with Stuttgart won’t end after the season wraps,” Hofmann concludes.

GGFN | Peter Weis