How does Hoeneß improve players so much?

That’s no exaggeration.

Alexander Nübel, Angelo Stiller, Deniz Undav, Chris Führich, Jamie Leweling, Waldemar Anton and Maximilian Mittelstädt all made their Germany debuts after working with him; Serhou Guirassy recorded the most impressive goal-return of his career, and Enzo Millot (France) and Luca Jaquez (Switzerland) progressed to their respective nations’ U21 sides.

So what is going on in Stuttgart?

Watch: The best of Nick Woltemade

Well, first of all, Hoeneß is clearly an excellent coach. When he took over on 3 April 2023, VfB were bottom of the table with eight games left to play. Hoeneß not only steered the side to safety, via the relegation play-offs, he also took them to the DFB Cup semi-finals.

Just one year later, they finished as Bundesliga runners-up – ahead even of Bayern Munich Munich – Guirassy had scored 28 league goals, smashing his previous single-season personal best of 11, and they qualified for the UEFA Champions League.

By which point, Undav, Anton, Mittelstädt and Führich had all been called up to the senior Germany set-up and all made the final squad for UEFA Euro 2024. Anton and Guirassy also earned headline transfers to Borussia Dortmund that summer, and in May this year, Stuttgart won the DFB Cup for the first time since 1997.

Watch: All of Guirassy's Bundesliga goals 

But one thing is mastering a coach’s bread and butter of match analysis, tactical knowledge and being able to motivate a team.

It’s quite another to improve so many players to such a degree that they become full internationals and, in Woltemade’s case, become a target for Bayern.

Hoeneß gave an insight into his methodology in late 2023. “I always firmly believe that team success is always the foundation for individual success - like we’re currently seeing with Serhou Guirassy, Chris Führich and Alex Nübel,” the 43-year-old told Sky.

“But even with such individual development, it’s always important that there’s a strong spirit and a team mentality within the squad. That comes down to how you lead, interact with each another and communicate.

Watch: Bayern's Max Eberl on his club's interest in Woltemade

“We work as a team on the team,” he continued, eager to praise his staff. “First and foremost, it’s about the bigger picture: the playing philosophy, putting players in roles where they feel comfortable, and placing them in positions where they can perform and play to their strengths. This job is also about leadership, and it’s about communication.”

That latter point was also emphasised by Woltemade when asked about his dramatic improvement earlier this year.

“He’s an outstanding coach who has helped me immensely, and in the short time I've been here I’ve made a huge leap forward in my game” the 23-year-old told German broadcaster SWR Sport, before highlighting Hoeneß’s “open and honest communication” as a key factor.

“I've worked a lot, talked a lot with him and with the assistant coaches. That’s now paying off on the pitch. I study opposing goalkeepers, so I have a picture in my mind of what I can do when I’m running at them one-on-one. The reason I’m scoring more is because I’m getting into the box more often.”

With promising youngsters Lorenz Assignon and Noah Darvic having joined the club over the summer, and Ameen Al-Dakhil - now a full Belgium international - another to have benefitted from Hoeneß’ wisdom, 2025/26 is already shaping up to be another successful season for the club.

Can they add to it in their very first game when they host Bayern in the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup on 16 August?