The change game

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Rund um den Brustring

·30 October 2024

The change game

Once again, against Kaiserslautern, VfB advances in the cup with their second-string lineup. However, a referee misplacement and the team’s own carelessness made the game unnecessarily exciting.

By the time Nick Woltemade scored the 1–0 goal after about fifteen minutes with an assist from Ermedin Demirović—finally converting the 75% possession his team had held up to that point into a goal—it should have been clear to any observer who would progress to the next round that Tuesday evening. The visitors from Kaiserslautern were overwhelmed by the way players like Krätzig, Rieder, and others moved the ball, with a class difference apparent early on. And that was even with half of the German national team still on the bench, as Sebastian Hoeneß, just as he had in the first round against Lautern’s fellow second-tier team Münster, spun the rotation carousel extensively.

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Superior Play

Though calling it rotation almost isn’t accurate, as it would imply that players like Hendriks, Woltemade, Stenzel, or Krätzig would be seen more often in the future. Instead, it was more a case of VfB’s coach taking the opportunity to give his substitutes some playing time, knowing that this wouldn’t jeopardize their progression and that his bench was strong enough to ultimately secure the victory. And that’s how it turned out, with Führich—a player who doesn’t often feature in the starting lineup—scoring one of the deciding goals.

For load management, it might have been better if Deniz Undav and Angelo Stiller had each played around half an hour, and Jamie Leweling and Enzo Millot around 15 minutes each, but VfB struggled for a long time against a limited yet fighting Kaiserslautern team to turn their superior play into a decisive lead. After the equalizer, FCK increasingly relied on counter-attacks, and VfB’s game setup was at times too intricate to overcome the many defenders in red socks crowded in front of the goal. On one or two of the visitors’ counter-attacks, VfB even got a bit lucky.

A Misassigned Referee: Schlager

That the score remained tied until the 76th minute was partly due to VfB’s own carelessness in front of the opponent’s goal, and to a lesser degree in front of their own goal when Fabian Rieder fouled his opponent Marlon Ritter somewhat clumsily just before halftime. But also due to referee Daniel Schlager, inexplicably assigned yet again to a VfB cup match. Schlager not only struggled to judge physical contests correctly but also intervened crucially in the game when he failed to spot that Rieder’s unnecessary foul took place clearly outside the penalty area from just a few yards away.

This time, at least, he could excuse himself by saying there is no video assistant in the second round of the cup, meaning the team had to live with the referee’s incompetence—which I frankly prefer over the unpredictable and inconsistent threshold for intervention, seemingly adjusted to suit the referee and his superiors whenever convenient. When Schlager failed to send Robert Andrich off the field in February or gave a far-fetched explanation in May 2023 for a missed penalty call against Frankfurt, this excuse didn’t apply. Luckily, he wasn’t able to kick us out of the cup this time.

The Game Plan in Place

But let’s not dwell longer than necessary on things beyond our control. Despite the narrow score, there were plenty of positive aspects to take from the game. First and foremost, Fabian Bredlow, who, in Alexander Nübel’s shadow, has significantly improved his ball skills and reinforced the impression that, while Sebastian Hoeneß can’t necessarily field every player against every opponent, the entire squad has internalized the coach’s game plan. Facing a recently strong-performing second-division team, he had the luxury of changing nine positions from Saturday’s starting eleven. It’s understandable that routines might not flow as smoothly with players lacking match practice, but in the end, the substitutions paid off.

With this third consecutive win and some players having rested on certain positions, the team now heads into Friday’s matchup between the reigning champion and runner-up, followed by games against Europa League champion Bergamo and an ambitious Frankfurt team, featuring former VfB loanee Omar Marmoush. The team has already tackled the supposedly easier tasks in this congested schedule and handled them with the required seriousness. In the coming week, we can likely expect a bit more spectacle. The important thing, however, is that the team has put the Bayern game behind them and is poised to take on the next three matches before the international break—if necessary, even with someone from the second lineup.