VfB Stuttgart coach Sebastian Hoeness said that his team can be proud of their performance in their Champions League opener against Real Madrid despite a 3-1 defeat on Tuesday evening. “We played with courage but I’m still disappointed that we lost this game. Having said that, we can be proud of the way we performed and played football here,” Hoeness said after the match, which marked Stuttgart’s first in the top competition since the 2009-2010 season. “That’s something we can build on in the coming weeks. I’ll never forget the way our fans supported us here tonight.” Some 15,000 Stuttgart fan…