How far away it seems the time when Serhou Guirassy fought in the ranks of Amiens to maintain his place in the elite of the French championship. Five seasons later, the Malian striker exploded onto the German lawns with his club Stuttgart. In 31 Bundesliga days – he played 25 – the number 9 had the most prolific season of his career (1 goal every 90 minutes). With his 25 goals, he occupies second place in the scorers ranking behind Harry Kane (35). Alongside his teammate Deniz Undav, he forms one of the best attacking pairs in the five major European championships with 43 goals scored between them. Only Kane and Musiala do better (45) on the Old Continent.
These two duos will also meet this Saturday for the 32nd day at the MHPArena (3:30 p.m.). Stuttgart hosts Bayern in a clash between third and second. On paper, the poster is beautiful but Thomas Tuchel could well not field his typical team, 4 days before a perilous trip to Madrid in the semi-final return of the Champions League for the Munich residents (2-2 at the go, Editor’s note). They, who hope to save their season, for the moment blank, by reaching the final on June 1 at Wembley.
The last time Stuttgart heard the Champions League anthem echoing in its stadium, Thierry Henry was still wearing the FC Barcelona jersey. This same team had ousted the Germans from the competition in the round of 16 during the 2009-2010 season. Since that date, the club located in the south of Germany has experienced nothingness. But this season, Stuttgart has found color under the leadership of its new coach, Sebastian Hoeness, who arrived in April 2023.
After a successful 2023-2024 exercise, where they almost were the first to bring down Leverkusen, Stuttgart officially qualified this Wednesday for the next Champions League campaign without even playing. A qualification acquired thanks to Dortmund’s victory against PSG, offering the Germans an additional European Cup ticket for 5th. At the dawn of the 32nd day, Guirassy and his teammates occupy 3rd place with 64 points and can no longer be joined by Frankfurt, 6th. A successful season which could continue with fanfare in the event of a victory against Bayern.
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