Deniz Undav on Composure and the Final Challenge

Deniz Undav talks about finishing like a man who has spent years replaying missed chances in his head.

“Composure in front of goal is very important for strikers because it makes your shots more accurate,” the VfB forward 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.”

It is a revealing line from a striker on the brink of the biggest night of his club career. Stuttgart head to Saturday’s Berlin final staring straight at the giants of the competition. No illusions. No false bravado.

Underdogs in the capital

In Undav’s eyes, the roles are crystal clear.

In the capital, the defending champions arrive as “complete underdogs against the record winners,” the 29-year-old says. “Bayern are the clear favourites, and there's no point pretending otherwise. Still, anything can happen in a single game. We know we can disrupt them, unsettle them. We'll give it our all.”

That is the tightrope Stuttgart must walk: respect without fear, realism without surrender. Bayern carry the weight of history; Stuttgart carry the freedom of a team told they should not win.

Undav’s words mirror his own game. Direct. No frills. A striker who understands that against a side like Bayern, one chance might define the night, and that the “ice-cold” edge he talks about could separate glory from regret.

A final… and a kebab

For all the pressure, there is room for something lighter. Around this Stuttgart side, a small ritual has taken root, and it leads not to champagne bars but to a kebab shop.

After the match, if the trophy is theirs, the squad will celebrate with a “victory kebab” — a tradition born in Berlin and now firmly part of the team’s folklore.

“If we win, everyone's having a kebab,” Undav says. “I'll watch a few YouTube videos about the top five kebabs in Berlin and decide which one I like.”

It is a detail that cuts through the tension of a final week. The stakes are huge, the opponent formidable, the stage imposing. Yet the image of a goal-hungry striker scrolling through kebab reviews before a showpiece in Berlin says plenty about the relaxed, grounded mood in this Stuttgart camp.

Future tied to Stuttgart

Once Berlin is done, Undav’s horizon stretches beyond club colours. He will join Germany at the World Cup, carrying with him not only the form that earned the call-up, but possibly a fresh contract with VfB.

“There's no reason why not,” he says of extending his stay. “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 frame everything: the tiny margins in front of goal he obsesses over, the fine print of a contract that could anchor his future, the split-second decisions that will decide a final in Berlin.

If Undav finds that ice-cold composure he craves on Saturday, those details might fall perfectly into place — with a medal around his neck and a kebab in his hand.