Reigning German Cup winner VfB Stuttgart face a mysterious penalty problem ahead of their 2025-26 UEFA Europa League opener against Celta Vigo. Before hosting the Spanish team on Thursday evening, coach Sebastian Hoeness indicated he might consider private coaching from Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane to help his players.

“We have to start thinking about how to solve the problem,” the 43-year-old said.

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Since Hoeness took over in the summer of 2023, Stuttgart’s penalty success rate in the Bundesliga has been only 50%. The team’s 2024 league campaign featured just 10 successful penalties out of 20 attempts.

The struggles became apparent when German international Angelo Stiller missed a poorly executed penalty in the latest league match against St. Pauli. He described his s

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