That Hurt!

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Rund um den Brustring

·27 November 2024

That Hurt!

VfB delivered their first truly poor performance in the Champions League this season, suffering a crushing 1–5 defeat in Belgrade. To top it off, it was Silas who started the turnaround.

A midfield ball recovery, a few quick strides toward the penalty area, the opponent doesn’t intervene, and the ball slips perfectly between the goalkeeper and the post. Silas hasn’t scored many goals in the jersey with the red stripe, but when he does, they’re ones like this. One of the many painful lessons from Wednesday evening in Belgrade was that VfB couldn’t prevent such a goal, despite Silas being one of their own players until this summer. Picking just one goal out of five conceded would be too simplistic, of course. But because it was the on-loan striker Silas who scored, and because Enzo Millot first carelessly lost the ball in a duel and Jeff Chabot then merely provided token resistance, it was emblematic of the team’s overall performance in the Serbian capital.

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It was clear beforehand that the match wouldn’t be easy and that it would take an improved performance compared to the Bochum game. In that game, the team was patient but often unlucky, allowing a largely toothless Bochum side to hang on despite controlling possession, before finally sealing the win. In Belgrade, VfB started well, with Ermedin Demirović scoring the opening goal and narrowly missing a second due to a razor-thin offside call. But why the team then became so disorganized remains a mystery to me. Was it because there was no dangerous striker on the bench to ease the pressure on Demirović, with Leweling, Undav, and El Bilal all injured? Or is the team still lacking a dominant central defender who can clear everything in the back?

Overload, False Security, Wrong Attitude

It was likely a mix of mental overload, misplaced confidence from the early lead, and the wrong mindset for the game. Belgrade had lost their first four matches, but they faced Benfica, Inter, Monaco, and Barcelona—teams against which VfB might not have fared any better. At the same time, Crvena Zvezda has played in the Champions League for four consecutive years and are Serbian league champions. They lack quality among Europe’s elite but not experience or savvy. VfB, on the other hand, were simply naive on Wednesday. Pascal Stenzel was outmaneuvered on the flank, Ata Karazor missed the ball, and Alex Nübel and Jeff Chabot fumbled around their six-yard box during a corner kick. Predictable counterattacks were preceded by hair-raising ball losses.

A completely wasted evening from VfB’s perspective, capped by reports of arbitrary treatment by Serbian police at the border and the unfortunately expected attacks on VfB fans by some Crvena Zvezda supporters. One can only respect those fans who, after such experiences, still endured the thrashing in the stadium. Personally, I found the whole situation too risky and am relieved I didn’t have to linger in Belgrade late into Wednesday night to get home. The result and how it came about are painful for another reason too.

Cracks in Self-Identity

VfB thought they were further along in their progress, even if they constantly reiterate that they “know where they come from.” In Madrid and Turin, the team put up a fight and even won a match. In Prague, they struggled despite their superiority. Atalanta proved to be too strong, as expected. But in Belgrade, the team delivered a disastrous performance against an opponent who was not invincible but more efficient. This defeat puts pressure on the next two games against still-winless Bern and Bratislava. It also undermines the team’s confidence and identity as fighters capable of bouncing back despite setbacks. After the match in Munich, Sebastian Hoeneß said the team couldn’t just move on as if nothing happened. On Wednesday evening, he struggled to make sense of this debacle.

A Call for a Reaction

The team doesn’t have time to wallow in self-doubt. On Saturday in Bremen, the squad will be slightly fuller, but the opponent will be just as challenging as Belgrade. Werder Bremen is on par with VfB in the standings and handed them a painful away defeat at the end of last season. After making a small step forward against Bochum, the team has now taken two steps back, turning the second of three away games within six days into another pivotal moment. A response must come in Bremen—not just with a more dangerous offensive display but also in terms of composure and savvy. After the Bochum game, I wrote that we must continue to practice patience. That still holds true. But apparently, we also need to develop resilience and learn to endure such painful results, which have become all too rare in recent months.