Alexander Nübel and VfB Stuttgart want to start the new season

Goalkeeper Alexander Nübel is part of the VfB Stuttgart team that exceeded all expectations last season by finishing second in the Bundesliga and is looking forward to the new season with the Swabians with great enthusiasm.

Despite some high-profile departures in the summer, much is still expected of Sebastian Hoeneß's team after VfB recorded 23 Bundesliga wins in the 2023/24 season, their best ever haul in the top division.

The Baden-Württemberg club also has the prospect of participating in the UEFA Champions League, a revamped edition of Europe's top competition. With Bayern Munich player Nübel on loan to Stuttgart for two more seasons, the promise of remaining part of his chosen team is an exciting one for the 27-year-old.

Regard: Nübel shone for Stuttgart last season

“What we have achieved [last season]and the number of points we got was phenomenal,” enthused the goalkeeper. “The run, the flow we had all year was incredible. I hope that we can carry that and the team spirit forward, because I believe that next year will bring even better and more exciting games and we are all looking forward to the Champions League and also the Bundesliga.”

A Bundesliga match in Freiburg is Stuttgart's third away match to kick off the new season. Before the opening match in the top division, the programme included the disappointment in the Supercup at Bayer Leverkusen and a DFB Cup first-round visit to Preußen Münster. Coach Hoeneß was a busy man, preparing his team for challenges in several competitions. For Nübel, however, the Stuttgart tactician was a key figure in the team's resurrection from relegation candidates to temporary Bundesliga leaders last season.

Nübel praised coach Sebastian Hoeneß’s communication skills. – IMAGO/Maik Hälter/TEAM2sportpho

“Communication is very, very important to him,” Nübel explained about Hoeneß. “And what particularly sets him apart is the structure he sets out, which I think he builds up together with the entire coaching team. I have experienced several coaches in my professional career, and I must say he really does an exceptionally good job. I [also] I believe that confidence is ultimately an important key in professional sports. Every player needs confidence and I believe [Sebastian] gave this to several players, which is why everyone did so well [last season]. I think our coach is very, very important.”

Just as important this time will be how well Stuttgart can cope with the loss of key players such as last year's top scorer Serhou Guirassy, ​​captain Waldemar Anton (both moved to Borussia Dortmund) and defender Hiroki Ito (Bayern Munich). VfB has strengthened its squad with Jeff Chabot and Ermedin Demirović, among others, and has tied Deniz Undav to the team. Since Nübel has also agreed to stay, there is a lot of hope for Stuttgart.

“I think we want to continue what we showed last year,” explained the former Schalke and Monaco goalkeeper. “That means playing football, dominance, possession and still being able to switch quickly after winning the ball, because I think we were incredibly strong in pressing last year. If we continue to refine that and integrate the new players into it, then we will be stronger, have even more depth in the squad and play an important role again.”

Regard: VfB almost defeated Leverkusen in the Supercup

Fans of The Swabians will no doubt be delighted to read these words from the goalkeeper who kept 14 clean sheets in 35 competitive matches for the club last season. Said fans will also be delighted to see Stuttgart return to the Champions League for the first time in 14 years, after picking up two more Bundesliga points this season than they did in the 2006/07 championship season.

Playing in the premier class of European club football “means a lot,” said the 1.93-meter-tall Nübel, who explained: “For club football, this is basically the highest trophy you can win internationally and I'm looking forward to being out and about with the fans at European competitions. They will be cool away games, but also home games, and I'm really looking forward to it.”

The disappointment of defeat in the recent Supercup – Stuttgart lost on penalties to Bundesliga champions Leverkusen – followed a bout of frustration at not being included in the German team's squad for UEFA Euro 2024 on home soil. Nübel had made coach Julian Nagelsmann's provisional list for the tournament but was ultimately left out. “I was really involved, so of course I was disappointed, but it is what it is,” he said. “I was the fourth goalkeeper and it was clear that I was not going to be there as the first, but I still [the tournament] very accurate.”

Nübel (M.) is likely to be one of the top goalkeepers in the Bundesliga in the 2024/25 season. – Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Bundesliga

These setbacks will only help Nübel reach new heights between the posts at VfB Stuttgart as he turns his focus to the promising 2024/25 season.

His goals? “The Champions League. We want to win games [and] Of course we want to try to progress somehow if possible, which will be very, very difficult. We want to play an important role in the Bundesliga again, bring our dominant football back onto the pitch, because then we will have a lot of fun and collect a lot of points.”