Berlin (Germany), Sep 24 Reigning German Cup winner VfB Stuttgart face a mysterious penalty problem ahead of their 2025-26 UEFA Europa League opener against Celta Vigo. Before hosting the Spanish team on Thursday evening, coach Sebastian Hoeness indicated he might consider private coaching from Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane to help his players.
"We have to start thinking about how to solve the problem," the 43-year-old said.
Since Hoeness took over in the summer of 2023, Stuttgart's penalty success rate in the Bundesliga has been only 50%. The team's 2024 league campaign featured just 10 successful penalties out of 20 attempts.
The struggles became apparent when German international Angelo Stiller missed a poorly executed penalty in the latest league match against St. Pauli. He described his shot as "embarrassing."
While only three of the team's eight penalties hit the target last season, the overall success rate of 80% for Bundesliga penalties still makes Stuttgart's performance concerning, reports Xinhua.
"It is more than just obvious that we desperately need improvement, as the topic follows us like a dark shadow," said Hoeness, son of former Bayern star Dieter Hoeness and nephew of Bayern board member Uli Hoeness.
After narrowly avoiding elimination in the first round of the 2025-26 German Cup by winning 8-7 on penalties against second-division side Braunschweig, memories of the club's legendary penalty takers come to mind.
Bulgarian international Krassimir Balakov had 26 successful shots in 32 attempts over 20 years ago (81%), while Serhou Guirassy made five of six shots when playing for Stuttgart between 2022 and 2024.
Then there is Serbia's Zdravko Kuzmanovic, who made all eight of his attempts between 2009 and 2013.
Midfielder Stiller said he is currently not among the penalty-taking candidates and has encouraged Bosnian-Herzegovinian international Ermedin Demirovic to step up for upcoming challenges.
Hoessen said a clear ranking is necessary to escape the problem. Penalties are not an immediate concern, he added, but "it's a matter of practice."
The coach called England captain Kane a shining example for penalty shots and said competition-level shooting can be trained and must be part of a footballer's daily routine.
Kane's shooting percentage of over 88% led to a record 17 consecutive successful penalties in his first 17 attempts after joining the German league - an unprecedented achievement that Stuttgart's players and coach hope to emulate.
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