Whether on the pitch, on the bench or in the stands – Serhou Guirassy will once again attract a lot of attention.
The goalscorer’s chances of playing in the home game against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday (3:30 p.m./Sky) were the constant topic around VfB Stuttgart this week. Not a day went by without new speculation. Will the 27-year-old’s thigh hold up? And if so, for how long?
Coach Sebastian Hoeneß expected a decision at the last minute. But the VfB coach announced that they would not take any unnecessary risks. Of course, the questions about his attacker didn’t surprise him. Guirassy is after all one of the shooting stars of the season so far. And according to Hoeneß, just as valuable to VfB as 15-goal man Harry Kane was to FC Bayern Munich.
14 goals in eight match days
The Guinean national striker scored 14 goals in the first eight matchdays of the Bundesliga – then a muscle injury stopped him. Since then, things haven’t been going quite as smoothly for the Stuttgart dream starters. In the league they lost 2:3 against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and 0:2 at 1. FC Heidenheim, in the DFB Cup they managed a 1-0 win over 1. FC Union Berlin.
Is the small dent actually due to the absence of Guirassy? Or was it not to be expected that the successful streak of the almost relegated team from the previous season would end or at least be interrupted at some point? The truth probably lies somewhere in between. Overall, the team has so far “compensated well” for the absence of its offensive star, said sports director Fabian Wohlgemuth recently.
“A very central player”
“There is no question that Serhou is a very central player for us,” said Hoeneß. One who “had a tremendous run” at that. However, the coach has “absolutely no interest” in attributing the defeat in the Swabian derby in Heidenheim last Sunday to Guirassy’s failure. The probability of a goal with the clipper would perhaps have been greater. But his team also created so many chances, said Hoeneß. And that is ultimately the more important yardstick for him.
Deniz Undav is doing his best to replace Guirassy in the center of attack. The loan from Brighton
Coach Hoeneß does not shy away from comparisons with other top strikers. “If you take Harry Kane out of Bayern, sooner or later it might make itself felt,” he said. The same applies to Victor Boniface and Bayer Leverkusen. “And for us it’s Serhou.” However, Hoeneß explained that he did not want to “pass it on” to the star striker that VfB had recently lost twice. And he probably won’t if it happens a third time.
