Sebastian Hoeneß, Angelo Stiller, and a Resurgent Young VfB Stuttgart

Sebastian Hoeneß’s transformation of VfB Stuttgart from strugglers to finishing second in the Bundesliga last season and securing Champions League football has been nothing short of remarkable.

Arriving at the club in April 2023, he quickly went about elevating Stuttgart off the bottom of the Bundesliga while instilling a clear philosophy, ultimately steering VfB to safety after a tense relegation play-off against Hamburg.

"It was a very important step - and the right step - en route to avoiding relegation. From day one Sebastian set the course needed for the team to pick up the required points. He and his coaching staff played a big role in us managing to turn the corner just in time," Stuttgart sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth told Sky Sports.

"Even then, you could tell that he had a clear idea of how he wanted the team to play, and of the level of intensity, desire and sharpness expected from the players each day. That development continued seamlessly into the team's preparations for the new season."

So, with that in mind, let’s dive into the tactics and key players behind Hoeneß’s successful resurgence of VFB Stuttgart..

Hoeneß’s Tactics and Philosophy

From his usual base 4-2-4/4-4-2/4-2-2-2/4-2-3-1, Hoeneß’s Stuttgart have been a real force to be reckoned with due to their smart possession play and spirited defensive output.

Moreover, given their structure usually ensures nearby options are present, it means they can move the ball quickly and coherently, as well as counterpress swiftly if a turnover occurs, thus amplifying their system's potency.

Being in close proximity also helps them further up the pitch too, allowing them to combine rapidly to destabilise and then penetrate opposing defences with through balls from forward-facing recipients.

So good at generating numerical and positional superiorities and constantly asking questions with their slick rotations and fluid ball movement, Hoeneß - who is the nephew of the former Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeneß - has certainly crafted a sophisticated build-up machine.

Staggering their players shrewdly at different heights to give the ball holder many options in advantageous areas is another key feature, allowing ideal passing angles to be achieved with crisp one and two-touch passes.

Stuttgart’s wingers and full-backs both have key roles and excel at coming infield and holding the width, as well as keeping opponents on their toes with how they can seamlessly alternate between overlapping and underlapping.

The hard-charging runs from deep by the midfielders also warrant mention. These allow Stuttgart to get an additional number of players high up the field and catch out defenders who are already preoccupied or ball watching.

Progressive, cohesive, and able to alter effectively their speed of play, it's little wonder many adversaries have found life tough against this multi-dimensional Stuttgart.

A fearsome unit defensively too, they have impressively imposed themselves in this department, even though they’ve been unlucky to concede 43 goals conceded from an expected goal against (xGA) of 36.39.

To start with their aforementioned counterpressing, their connected rest defence sees them ideally positioned to swarm once they lose possession in their quest to regain the ball high up the pitch and prevent the opposition from countering so they can get on the attack again.

Their intensity and aggression transfers to their high pressing, where they make life difficult with their coordinated and tenacious approach.

Responding speedily to triggers like back passes, sideways passes, if an opponent drops deep with their back to goal or when the ball is played wide, Stuttgart’s players lock onto their man to hem them in and use the touchline as an extra defender. It's also important to note how the ball-far players edge infield to enhance their compactness and the harriers curve their pressure to use their cover shadow to block passing lanes behind them.

Pushing up collectively - often man-for-man - and ensuring their defensive line is nice and high to compress the available room to work in, this aspect of the game is another vital string to their bow.

Equally successful in their mid-block, where they prioritise compactness and protecting central areas, Stuttgart get their shifting spot on, diligently adhere to marking assignments, and support one another if an opponent gets free, massively boosting their effectiveness.

Being so organised and with a quality central presence notably holds them in good stead once they recover the ball, as they can immediately transition with many options to produce pulsating counters.

Key Player: Angelo Stiller

One man who deserves special praise is diminutive maestro Stiller, who pulls the strings in midfield with his technical wizardry while also breaking up play with his stopping exertions.

Such a key figure in orchestrating and breathing life into Stuttgart’s offensive patterns, it's been a joy to watch him impact proceedings heavily with his outstanding distribution

Be it piercing lines with searing ground passes, switching the angle of attacks, engaging in intricate link play or launching perfectly weighted through balls in-behind, Stiller can do it all in from an array of distances and scenarios.

A superb chance creator from his base deep-lying station and forever pinpointing colleagues in exceptional locations in the final third, there's no denying what an indispensable member of Stuttgart's squad he is.

A tremendous reader of the play and so attentive to danger due to his scanning, this further aids to Stiller’s ability to put himself in top situations to execute his actions cleanly.

Finding space expertly has been another valuable piece of Stiller’s armoury, as he knows precisely where to be to receive the next pass and provide the ball holder with a viable option. Whether dropping deeper, pushing higher between the lines, running into the box, supporting wide attacks, dovetailing with Karazor and his colleagues, his movement has been so influential for Stuttgart.

Contributing immensely on the defensive end as well, courtesy of his positional sense, awareness to danger, robust tackling and determination, adds to what a complete player he is.

As a collective, Stuttgart's entertaining style has unquestionably been paying off significantly, as evidenced by their impressive performance across a host of metrics:

Inventive, sticking to his principles, and keeping his team operating at a high level, Hoeneß continues to underline why he's one of the most interesting young managers in world football.

With his stock on the rise, he's set to be a man in demand yet again this summer, as some of the biggest clubs will be circling for his signature. But Stuttgart will be hoping he'll stay put to carry on the phenomenal work he's doing with the Swabians to keep propelling their young side to great heights next campaign and beyond.