Deniz Undav on Goals and Composure for Stuttgart's Final
Deniz Undav talks about goals as if they’re a science experiment: repetition, precision, control under pressure. But as he looks ahead to Saturday’s Berlin final, the VfB Stuttgart striker knows there’s nothing clinical about what awaits against Bayern Munich.
“Composure in front of goal is very important for strikers because it makes your shots more accurate,” he explains. “If you drill that every day, you become ice-cold. If I had a bit more of that, I'd surely finish more chances.”
That ice-cold edge will be tested on the biggest domestic stage. Stuttgart arrive in the capital as reigning champions, yet Undav has no interest in dressing up the reality of facing the record winners.
Underdogs with sharp edges
In his words, VfB are “complete underdogs against the record winners.” No bluster, no false bravado. Just a clear reading of the landscape.
“Bayern are the clear favourites, and there's no point pretending otherwise,” the 29-year-old says. “Still, anything can happen in a single game. We know we can disrupt them, unsettle them. We'll give it our all.”
That’s the tightrope Stuttgart must walk: respect without fear, realism without surrender. Bayern bring the weight of history, squad depth and expectation. Stuttgart bring rhythm, belief, and a striker who has turned self-critique into fuel.
Undav’s fixation on composure is not theory. It’s a daily grind. The finishing drills, the repetition from different angles, the insistence on turning half-chances into second nature. He wants to be the forward who, in a split second at Olympiastadion, doesn’t snatch at the moment but guides it.
Kebabs and contracts
For all the tension of a final, there is also a lighter side to this Stuttgart story. Win in Berlin, and the reward is not a champagne-soaked VIP party but something far more grounded: a “victory kebab.”
The ritual started in the capital and has stuck.
“After the match, the squad will celebrate with a victory kebab—a tradition that began in Berlin,” Undav says. “If we win, everyone's having a kebab. I'll watch a few YouTube videos about the top five kebabs in Berlin and decide which one I like.”
It’s a small window into a squad that doesn’t take itself too seriously, even as it chases serious prizes. A team that can talk about pressing triggers one minute and kebab rankings the next often carries the kind of relaxed edge that unsettles favourites.
Once the final whistle blows and the kebab hunt is either on or postponed, Undav’s horizon stretches beyond Berlin. His next stop: joining Germany at the World Cup, potentially with his club future already settled.
A new VfB contract is on the table in more than just a symbolic sense.
“There's no reason why not,” he says. “I've said many times that I enjoy playing here; I feel at home. I feel like a Stuttgart native, even if I'm not one. We're not far apart; it's just the small details.”
Those “small details” now hover over everything. The details in negotiations. The details in the box on Saturday. The details that separate a gallant underdog from a champion who walks through Berlin at night, kebab in hand, knowing he has earned the right to feel at home.
