Stindl: “A small miracle”

Borussia have reached the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in the club’s history, although the Foals lost their final group game 2-0 away to Real Madrid. Captain Lars Stindl discussed reaching the next round, the performance in Spain and missing the fans.

How were the minutes after our game finished and you were watching Inter and Shakhtar, hoping for the final whistle there?

Stindl: The minutes seemed to go on forever. When I was taken off, I asked what the score was in Milan. Obviously our focus was primarily on our own game, but by the final few minutes we knew we probably wouldn’t take anything from the game. As a result, our focus after the game was on the small tablet that we all gathered around to watch the Inter game on. We were quite nervous watching it. I initially didn’t want to get too involved with it, but you can’t not watch it when you’re in that situation. My heart was pumping and when the final whistle blew in Milan we lost control of our emotions. Everyone was so pleased, especially because we deserved to reach the knockouts after a good group stage.

How do you think we played in Madrid?

Stindl: It was our worst performance in the group stage and we know that. We played against a strong Real side, who taught us a few things and showed why they are one of the biggest clubs in the world. We obviously need to analyse the game once we get a chance. It didn’t go as planned, although that’s not important right now. Our main emotion is joy, simply because we have pulled of this miracle. We are proud of what we’ve achieved. Borussia being one of the best 16 teams in Europe is something really special and we should enjoy it.

What were the reasons for the defeat?

Stindl: Real Madrid were clearly better than us. They have a number of good players and showed that on the night. We didn’t have any answers to the problems they posed. The main issue was that we never really got control of the game. Both our pressing and defending wasn’t good enough. The attacks that we had also were rarely finished off well. We only had one or two chances, which would have perhaps got us back into the game. Overall, their win was totally deserved.

How would you rate our group stage?

Stindl: To get through a group with three such strong teams is amazing. I don’t think many people backed us after the draw was made. We were pleased to have been drawn against Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk and Inter Milan, although we knew it would be tough. We gave our best in the five previous games, suffered several setbacks but always got back up again. As a result, we deserved to reach the knockouts after our five previous performances. There’s only one negative.

Which is?

Stindl: Unfortunately, none of our fans could be with us for this journey. Nonetheless, I hope that we have made as many Gladbach fans as possible happy in front of their TVs during these difficult times and I hope they had a special evening too.