VfB leads in front of 1.FC Cologne

The importance of standard situations has increased significantly in modern football. After the ball is at rest, strength in the air is particularly important. Winning header duels can make important differences, especially in close matches. It is currently an important recipe for success for VfB Stuttgart.

The Swabians have already scored five headed goals after seven match days, leading the Bundesliga. For comparison: nine clubs, half of the Bundesliga, have not yet hit a header or only hit once. It is remarkable at VfB not least because the storm tower is missing in Sasa Kalajdzic. The 24-year-old injured his shoulder in his only game of the season against RB Leipzig. In the past season, the Austrian scored eight of his 16 goals in the Stuttgart jersey with his head.

Kempf would be third alone

Kalajdzic will be well represented these days. Central defender Marc Oliver Kempf, who has already nodded off three times and thus tops the internal goalscorer list at VfB, stands out. The 26-year-old has collected more headers than 14 Bundesliga clubs in total. As teams, SC Freiburg and TSG Hoffenheim also have three hits with the main, only 1. FC Cologne can outbid Kempf’s brand. Unsurprisingly, Stuttgart is also ahead when it comes to the proportion of headed goals in the total number of all goals this season. Over 41 percent of all Swabian goals came with a header on the first seven match days.

Bavaria under ten percent

In this regard, Arminia Bielefeld is in second place, with Ostwestfalen having only scored three goals in total. Cologne follows in third place with still over 30 percent. It is also not surprising that the teams that are generally considered to be the strongest teams have a comparatively low proportion of headed goals. FC Bayern is the only Bundesliga team (besides the three teams that have not yet scored with their heads) a rate of less than 10 percent. Clubs like Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen or Borussia Mönchengladbach also hit their heads comparatively less often.

The Bundesliga header ranking

16. FC Augsburg, 0 header goals out of a total of 3 goals this season

= 16. FSV Mainz 05, 0 of 7

= 16. VfL Wolfsburg, 0 of 9

10. Arminia Bielefeld, 1 of 3, share of 33.33 percent

= 10. VfL Bochum, 1 out of 4, 25 percent

= 10th Eintracht Frankfurt, 1 out of 8, 12.5 percent

= 10th SpVgg Greuther Fürth, 1 out of 5, 20 percent

= 10th Hertha BSC, 1 out of 8, 12.5 percent

= 10. Borussia Mönchengladbach, 1 out of 9, 11.11 percent

5. FC Bayern, 2 out of 24, 8.33 percent

= 5. Union Berlin, 2 out of 10, 20 percent

= 5. Borussia Dortmund, 2 out of 19, 10.5 percent

= 5. RB Leipzig, 2 of 15, 13.33 percent

= 5. Bayer Leverkusen, 2 out of 20, 10 percent

3. SC Freiburg, 3 out of 11, 27.27 percent

= 3rd TSG Hoffenheim, 3 out of 12, 25 percent

2. 1. FC Cologne, 4 out of 13, 30.77 percent

1. VfB Stuttgart, 5 out of 12, 41.67 percent

(Information via Transfermarkt)

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