As the legendary former national team trainer once said: “Nach dem Spiel ist vor dem Spiel” (after the game is before the game). One game finishes, and another arrives hot on its heels. Matchday 6 is here, and the Bundesliga coaches have been giving their pre-match thoughts.
Werder Bremen v Augsburg
Ole Werner: “It’s important that the team works with those starting and those coming off the bench. No one ever scores a goal by themselves. We function as a team because Ducksch plays as he does. He is always a feature. His qualities are clear to see: he has exceptional speed and has refined his technique in front of goal. He’s getting himself into more scoring positions. Every player in the squad needs to offer something.
“Every single point helps. But the points that we have won’t be enough. The table doesn’t mean anything to us at this stage of the season. But, at the same time, we are going into tomorrow’s game looking to take all 3 points.
“I’m expecting a physical team that won’t allow many goal-scoring opportunities, given their defensive organisation. FCA do have some problems creating clear-cut chances. We have to be ready for an intense and physical game.”
Enrico Maaßen: ““We have a duty to give back something back to the fans. The team is up for it and throwing themselves fully into each training session, but now we have to turn that into results.
“Bremen are a huge, traditional club. They have started well and are playing at home; there is a certain excitement there. But there is also an opportunity to get something there! We have to be 100 percent concentrated for the entire game.”
Bayern Munich v VfB Stuttgart
Julian Nagelsmann: “It’s not difficult to get back into Bundesliga mode because we’re called upon. We’ve drawn twice and aren’t in the position we want to be. Stuttgart play with a lot of variety and have a lot of different systems. There are always clear patterns on the counter from the different formations, which we need to be prepared for.”
Pellegrino Matarazzo: “Compared with last season, we’re defending in a different way and also operating differently on the counter. We’ve put more emphasis and value on defence, and that means that the chances and goals we create after getting possession back are also different – and I see it as progress. We’re always prepared to fight for every goal as a unit, even when we’re a man down.
“We’ve got the opportunity in Munich to show what we’re capable of – particularly with the focus, unity and heart we show on the pitch. If we play as a team and stand our ground, we’re capable of getting a result in Munich.”
RB Leipzig v Borussia Dortmund
Marco Rose: “We all play in the same league, so we’ll face every team at some point. It’s definitely special and exciting (facing BVB), but I have a lot of work to do here so the scheduling isn’t very important. We’ll take it as it comes.
“We have a lot of very good footballers here, an exciting squad with a good structure, also with regard to age. There are a lot of young players as well as experienced players and therefore everything that you need. I’m looking forward to it.
“In terms of the line-up, it’s always dependent on the squad, the opponent and what they’re offering. I’m flexible there and will co-operate with the players and listen to where they feel most comfortable. But then they have a responsibility, because if they feel good in a certain position they have to perform accordingly there. We have a lot of options.”
Edin Terzic: “I’m happy that Marco is back in the Bundesliga. We probably didn’t expect to see each other again so soon. I watched the videos of their games before the change of coach became official. That changes things a bit.
“Leipzig have tried out many things and different formations in the past few weeks. It wasn’t easy to prepare for the game anyway. We’ve often managed to defend the clean sheet, to defend compactly as a whole team, to allow the opponent few chances to score.
“We’re very satisfied with how often and how clearly we’ve created chances in the past three games. On Tuesday in the Champions League we managed to score the second and third goals early on. We are on a really good path, which we want to build on.”
Hoffenheim v Mainz
Andre Breitenreiter: “Bo Svensson lives the DNA of Mainz 05. They are very uncomfortable to play against, want to win the ball in order to quickly switch vertically. They play with high intensity and are very fit. They are capable of winning away games so we have to be vigilant. At the same time, we want to play our game and do better than we have done in the games against Mainz here in recent years.”
Bo Svensson: “We have a bit of momentum behind us in terms of results – but not in our performances. And I’m all about performances, that’s my job. We’re always trying to improve, no matter how many points we have.
“We had good phases on the ball against Gladbach. The intensity was there. We have to take that over into the Hoffenheim game. We have to focus on our strengths. Anton Stach and Jae-sung Lee are questionable for the Hoffenheim match. We’ll have to see tomorrow if they can train in the final session before the match. Marcus Ingvartsen is still out.”
Eintracht Frankfurt v VfL Wolfsburg
Oliver Glasner: ““Wolfsburg haven’t started the season the way they would’ve liked. According to reports there’s a bit of unrest. The difficult thing for us is that they’ve changed their starting formation in every game so far. That means you can’t predict which players we’ll be facing or how they’ll line up.
“I’m certain that Niko Kovac, who had an extremely successful spell here at Eintracht, will get his players fired up to take something from this game. But we’ll fire our boys up just us much in order to prevent that happening.
“In terms of managing the training workload it’s relatively easy for a coach because you can’t really do any proper training. You’re just doing recovery work and the most important training sessions take place in our meeting room, where we watch videos and look at certain things again. Recovery, videos, clearing your head – and then going for it again with everything we’ve got.
“A third sell-out at home in the space of a week – huge credit to our fans! Knowing that we can always rely on them helps enormously.”
Nico Kovac: “The fact that we are second from last is not a pretty sight and it annoys me. Nevertheless, it is a snapshot. With one or two wins, something like that can change quickly in football. You just have to earn and win these victories first. You can’t do that by just praying and hoping. You also have to be productive and enforce it.
“Football has become incredibly dynamic and aggressive. It is important to seek physical contact. It doesn’t mean I have to knock someone out, but I can throw them off balance and force them to make mistakes. If a player comes along, it’s much more difficult for him than without contact. So that’s what it’s all about: We have to seek physical contact, help each other and, above all, work in both directions, going forward and defensively.
“We have to reduce our mistakes and work together as a team against the ball. One has to be there for the other in order to give the opponent as few scoring chances as possible. This is what we need to work on and what we have been working on.
“Now I hope that we learn from what we did wrong. It all takes time, which doesn’t really exist in football. But we are still working hard on it. I’ve walked this path a number of times and I know for sure that sooner or later it will bear fruit.
Hertha Berlin v Bayer Leverkusen
Sandro Schwarz: “We can’t allow ourselves to be blinded by their results. We know that Leverkusen have very good individual quality and a lot of pace, especially up front.
“Stevan Jovetic trained individually on Wednesday, and the plan is for him to link up with the group today. We’ll have to wait and see how he looks for Saturday. We know the quality that Agustín Rogel possesses – he has already demonstrated that in training. But our centre-backs performed well against Augsburg, and so did Márton after he was subbed on. So we’ve got to decide on Saturday.”
Gerardo Seoane: “We’re focusing on the positive points. The team defended more compactly and aggressively in Bruges and also played better in the offensive in the second half. It’s my job to focus on the team and put personal feelings to one side. I have to prepare the team well and make the right decisions. It’s a challenge that I accept.”
Schalke v VfL Bochum
Frank Kramer: “We are desperate to win this game. VfL Bochum are one of our direct rivals in the fight for survival. We will do everything we can to get the points. We believe we can win the game with our fans behind us.”
“Everybody has to put in their best possible performance and constantly show that they’re an important part of the team.”
Thomas Reis: “We can draw level with Schalke in this game. We want to finally get points now. We have prepared well and want to implement a few things on Saturday. I’m in a positive mood and the boys are also focusing on the game on Saturday. I look forward to every game. Every game is special for VfL.
“It’s going to be a great derby on Saturday, that must be pure joy. We have the best possible support with us, which will be very important for us.
Of course, what has been written in the last few weeks is not nice. I rose above it, so I didn’t feel any pressure. We all want to pull together. The fans are behind VfL Bochum, we have built so much together over the past three years. It’s important to get out of this situation we’re in right now. I’m just looking forward to the game and I’ll enjoy it. We have to make sure we take the points home with us. I focus on my team.”
Köln v Union Berlin (Sunday)
To follow
Freiburg v Borussia Mönchengladbach (Sunday)
To follow
