Lothar Matthäus, the German national team's record appearance holder, said during an appearance on Sky90 on Sunday evening that VfB Stuttgart forward Deniz Undav may be feeling the weight of his new responsibility as captain. Stuttgart are 15th in the table with just six points from seven matches, and they next face SC Paderborn in the DFB Cup on Wednesday before visiting Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the Bundesliga the following Saturday.
Matthäus' view
Matthäus said: "That is how it looks, at least, because he no longer has that lightness about him. He has lost his smile. Perhaps he is thinking too much."
He added: "But perhaps they did him no favour by giving it to him, because he is too preoccupied with himself."
The captaincy issue
Undav took over the captaincy from midfielder Atakan Karazor for the current season. Matthäus argued against immediately taking the captain's armband away from Undav.
Matthäus explained that it brings "a special responsibility for the team. Not as much as a coach, admittedly, but as captain you do have things that can distract you from what you have done well for years."
Form and fixtures
Undav has scored just once in 11 competitive appearances across all competitions in 2026/27, and he has yet to score in seven Bundesliga appearances. Stuttgart most recently lost 3-2 to Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Matthäus said: "Of course, a great deal has gone on in his head over the past two years. Where has he come from? What has he achieved? All of Germany are talking about him: the saviour who will score the goals for Germany to make them world champions. Then, all of a sudden, he is captain. That was a lot for him to take in."