VfB Stuttgart find themselves at a crossroads, caught between European promise and domestic disappointment. In the Bundesliga, the situation has become genuinely concerning. Seven games have produced just six points, and a 2-3 home defeat to bottom-placed Borussia Mönchengladbach last weekend represented a new low. Stuttgart sit 15th in the table, and the pressure on the squad is mounting visibly.

At the centre of that pressure is captain Deniz Undav. The striker has managed just one goal in eleven competitive appearances this season and remains without a Bundesliga strike in seven outings. Lothar Matthäus raised the question publicly on Sky90, suggesting the captaincy may have weighed on Undav rather than lifted him. "He has no lightness anymore," Matthäus said. "He has lost his smile." Matthias Sammer had already questioned the captaincy choice after the Atletico Madrid draw, though both pundits acknowledged Undav's authenticity and standing in the dressing room.

Coach Sebastian Hoeneß has responded by tightening the screws in training. Sessions are longer and more intense, individual errors are now addressed in front of the full squad rather than privately, and no starting place is guaranteed. The club has also banned players from driving personal luxury cars onto the training ground, a signal that focus and professionalism are being demanded at every level.

A 1-0 DFB-Pokal win at Paderborn on Wednesday provided a small but welcome boost. Stuttgart now travel to Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga on Saturday, a fixture that will test whether Hoeneß's measures are beginning to take effect.