Hoeneß strongly defends Undav

Stuttgart's coach Sebastian Hoeneß has strongly defended team captain Deniz Undav amid criticism of the German forward's modest start to the season.

Uli Hoeneß acknowledged that 30-year-old Undav has not yet reached his best form, but he strongly rejected the description of his performance as catastrophic, stating: "He certainly has not given his best yet, but in the catastrophic way things have been portrayed in some reports, he also has not played."

The coach confirmed that Undav is a player who cannot be evaluated through statistics alone, explaining: "Anyone who tries to interpret Deniz Undav solely through statistics has lost the battle in my opinion."

Hoeness added: "He has reached where he is now because he has carved his own path, and he has his own character and mentality, and you have to deal with him accordingly."

Stuttgart's coach praised his captain's ability to read and understand matches, stating that Undav "understands the game and reads it remarkably well," and personally provides him as a coach with "important ideas and signals."

He added: "For this reason, he is always a valuable player for us, even when he does not deliver his best touches or movements in the match."

Uli Hoeneß emphasized that Stuttgart signed Undav, knowing exactly his style of play. He explained: "We always knew he wouldn't run 13 kilometres in a match. If you want a player to do that, you need to sign another player. But we specifically wanted Deniz."

Uli Hoeneß defends Undav ahead of Stuttgart's Champions League opener against Viking Stavanger, after the player remained goalless in the first three official matches of the team. It is worth noting that he has trained normally in recent days despite previously suffering from an Achilles tendon issue.