Stuttgart fans console the players after loss to Borussia Dortmund

Bundesliga side Stuttgart slumped to a 3-2 home defeat to Borussia Dortmund with young defender Timo Baumgartl making the decisive error that cost Die Roten.

Dortmund’s Marco Reus pounced on the 18-year-old’s under-hit backpass in the 89th minute to score the decisive goal of the game that condemned Stuttgart to the very bottom of the table.

The real news from that game, however, was the heart-warming scenes after the match where the Stuttgart supporters consoled the players and embraced a teary-eyed Baumgartl.

It was almost a carbon copy of Dortmund’s emotion charged incident at the end of their match against FC Augsburg on February 4th, when the players confronted disgruntled fans and apologised for their poor run of form.

Since that match the side has been on a stirring run of three consecutive wins. Perhaps the Stuttgart players can draw upon this like Dortmund did and use the fans’ passion and will to survive in this league as a catalyst for better results.

This show of mutual respect is very rare and should be applauded considering the difficult circumstances. Certainly more genuine than the #respect hashtags we see everyday all over the Internet.

[jwplayer mediaid=”131218″]