Stuttgart versus Leverkusen: The Bundesliga is that beautiful

“It was fun,” said Stuttgart’s Chris Führich after the 1-1 draw. As you heard that, you noticed that football players rarely say a sentence like that. Even after victories, they are happy about the points, but you can always see the pressure and stress under which they do their job. They rarely explain why football is the number one sport in the world: because it’s simply fun.

So it’s that VfB Stuttgart and Bayer Leverkusen for not only making Chris Führich happy, but also for awakening childlike joy and enthusiasm in large parts of the football country. There was hardly anyone who didn’t rave about the top game on Sunday: technical finesse, top tempo, sophisticated pressing, combinations with just one contact, in the end 40 shots on goal and two finely played goals. The Bundesliga can be so beautiful. And so exciting.

In the midst of the gray German December, it is a ray of hope that it is not the eternal Bavarians who are leading the table. And it’s not BVB that has given hope here and there in recent years that they’ll be able to push the series champions off the throne, only to then find themselves back in second place – if necessary only on the last match day.

This season, VfB Stuttgart and Bayer Leverkusen are playing the most demanding football in the league. Two clubs that were 16th and 12th in the table exactly a year ago. German football was hardly expected to have so much innovative power anymore. Both clubs are not up there by luck. Their success is not a coincidence, but rather the result of smart decisions made by those responsible. You can see it on the pitch.

It is significant that the most attractive Bundesliga game in a long time without the participation of the FC Bayern and BVB came about. In fact, the difference between Stuttgart and Leverkusen and FC Bayern could hardly be greater. Here two teams that work through the game idea, there the full focus on individual talent. Individually, both teams, apart from Florian Wirtz, are inferior to FC Bayern, but they make up for this deficit precisely through the collective ideas of attacking and defending that cannot be seen in the Munich team, even under Thomas Tuchel.

Bayern rely on the quality of the individual, which also works in the case of Harry Kane, who has scored 18 times so far, because he is simply good. Therefore, they remain a title contender. But the defensive problems that became apparent in the 5-1 defeat in Frankfurt come from the fact that the central defenders Upamecano and Kim are neither among the world’s best in their field, nor do they receive the help they need due to their individual deficits through an overarching idea.

But that’s exactly what Xabi Alonso and Sebastian Hoeneß manage to do. They do coaching work in the best sense of the word: They have built a framework for their players that they can hold on to and that compensates for the individual’s weaknesses. The processes are perfected, everyone knows their job. This creates a team that, together, is better than the sum of its parts.

It’s just a shame that Stuttgart and Leverkusen chose the same season for their special year. So they take points away from each other, which makes Bayern happy. Like on Sunday.