Like a messenger announcing the latest news, Fabian Wohlgemuth appeared before the media and delivered “a great Undav story,” as he said. Of course, the sports director of VfB Stuttgart knew that there was no need to inform the eyewitnesses of this remarkable comeback. And yet it gave Wohlgemuth great pleasure to highlight the successful return of attacker Deniz Undav after a two-month break due to a torn muscle fiber. Wohlgemuth even made a reference to antiquity, to the most famous quote from Gaius Julius Caesar: “He comes, sees and conquers,” he said about Undav.
Wohlgemuth quickly referred to the collaborative effort that led to this 1-0 (0-0) victory in the former Roman city of Augsburg and at FCA, which has been based there since 1907 AD. But whether VfB would have started the groundbreaking first weeks of the year with a success on Sunday without Undav seems quite questionable when looking at the game as a whole. In previous chances, no other Stuttgart player had shown anything close to the calm and coolness in front of goal with which the German international scored the winning goal in the 65th minute shortly after coming on as a substitute.
Undav took Angelo Stiller’s nice lob behind the defense with his right and initially attempted a tunnel from the ankle against Augsburg’s Finn Dahmen, who had been promoted back to number one. Although this maneuver didn’t work, the trick was so finely measured that the ball didn’t bounce far from Dahmen and Undav was able to casually push it in on the second attempt.
The outcome of this goal “suits Deniz,” said Wohlgemuth; the 28-year-old did it “calmly” and “clearly.” It has also been shown that “now, unlike before the winter break, we have offensive power and can bring in players who bring momentum.” In the last home game before Christmas, Stuttgart lost 1-0 to newly promoted St. Pauli, with a thinned-out offense and almost no substitution options on the bench. They are all the happier at VfB to have Undav available for the next four English weeks. This Wednesday we’ll be facing Leipzig, a competitor for renewed qualification for Europe.
With his reference to the new possibilities in the offensive, Wohlgemuth also meant winger Jacob Bruun Larsen, who was signed from Hoffenheim last week and is now a substitute along with Undav; He also meant Jamie Leweling, who also got a few minutes of play after a long-term muscle injury. Bruun Larsen set a few accents in Augsburg with his enthusiasm. But the main praise went to Undav, who demonstrated his top scoring ability shortly after coming on as a substitute. This is also why the story based on Caesar fit quite well. According to tradition, his quote “Veni, vidi, vici” (I came, I saw, I conquered) goes back to a letter in which he told a friend about a battle won in just four hours in 47 BC. BC reported in what is now Türkiye. Undav needed four minutes to score the winning goal in his comeback.
“It was just perfect, like in a picture book,” says Undav
He later liked the analogy, as did the fantasy of a Stuttgart reporter (“all that’s missing is a Roman emperor’s helmet”). Undav did not defend himself against this image or against Wohlgemuth’s Caesar comparison. “It was true: I came in, I scored the goal, we won,” he said, “it was just perfect again, like in a picture book.” It also fit with the whole picture that Undav brought back a charming, cheeky tone of voice stops at VfB. When asked how he had worked on himself over the past two months, Undav replied: “Not at all, I just stayed like that.” That was of course a joke, but also one with a kernel of truth. Because his coolness in front of the goal probably has little to do with his drudgery in rehab. Undav confirmed this, at least indirectly. “Striker, that’s what I do all my life – and then of course it’s easy to be back in situations like that,” he said.
Coach Sebastian Hoeneß doesn’t have to fear for his authority, even if Undav liked the Caesar comparison. He assured that he would not make demands to play from the beginning again. Undav said about Hoeneß: “I’m not making any announcements to the coach, maybe to the players, but not to the coach. He’s making an announcement to me.”
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