Eberl: “An exciting start”

In the UEFA Champions League draw, Borussia were placed in Group B alongside Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Shakhtar Donetsk. We got some reaction.

Sporting director Max Eberl: It’s an exciting start. We’re in the Champions League – you can’t expect to come up against average teams, you’ll face the crème de la crème of Europe. We’re looking forward to the challenge. We all remember the infamous game against Inter Milan in 1971 and the name Roberto Boninsegna, the Italian striker. This fixture has a lot of history. But we obviously want to succeed in the present. Real Madrid and Inter Milan are two big names that play a big role in European football. Shakhtar Donetsk isn’t perhaps a big name, but a regular team in the Champions League. We want to get out of the group. We’ll do our best to win every game and hopefully make it to the knockouts. Alongside the great feeling that we’re getting started, however, is also the sad fact that Coronavirus restrictions remain in place. Our fans won’t be able to travel to the away games and only few fans will be able to attend home games at BORUSSIA-PARK for the foreseeable.

Head coach Marco Rose: Our group has increased the excitement for the Champions League. Real and Inter are two clubs that Borussia have great history against. We’re looking forward to it, but it’s important that we stay focused on the upcoming tasks.

Goalkeeper Yann Sommer: I’m really looking forward to the Champions League. We worked really hard last season to get here and we deserve to be here. Real, Shakhtar and Inter – that’s an awesome group. We’ve got a big challenge ahead of us. We’re looking forward to going up against big names on the biggest stage. We want to be successful and we’ll give everything to be successful.