Wendt: “We played with heart to turn the game around”

Following Saturday evening’s 2-1 victory over SC Freiburg, Oscar Wendt sat down to discuss how the Foals were able to turn the game around after half time, what 300 games in a Borussia shirt means to him, and how he intends to approach his last two months in Mönchengladbach.

Oscar, you were able to celebrate your 300th appearance for Borussia with a win yesterday! It didn’t necessarily look that way after the first half though, did it?

Oscar Wendt: No! I don’t think anyone went into the dressing room at half time satisfied with our performance. Luckily for us, there are two halves in a football match! We improved a lot after the break and we played with heart to turn the game around. We probably should have won 3-1 but we got the win and that’s the most important thing. To be able to celebrate my 300th appearance with the boys after a win is a great feeling and it means so much to me. I’m very proud of that.

We actually started the game quite well, so why do you think that Freiburg were the better team after they broke the deadlock?

Oscar Wendt: I think it was a mixture of things. We started well but didn’t respond when Freiburg scored. We weren’t good with the ball or out of possession either. But the most important thing is that we bounced back after the break and managed to win the game. Now we’ve won our last two games and hopefully we can continue to build on our performance in the second half.

You came out for the second half with a different system. How did that come about?

Oscar Wendt: The coach decided that we needed to switch up our system and how we were playing for the second half. You could see that worked well because we were much better after we did so. At half time, we were all disappointed, but we told ourselves that we still had 45 minutes to turn it around. We wanted to go all out and that’s what we did. It was a big help that we managed to equalise so early in the second half.

Did you think you’d make it to 300 games for Borussia when you first arrived from Copenhagen ten years ago?

Oscar Wendt: No, it’s something I couldn’t imagine. I’m very proud to have reached 300 appearances for this club. I’m also proud of my consistency – 300 games over ten years is an average of 30 games per season which is great.

Would you say that you’re experiencing the current season in a different way to past seasons, knowing that you won’t be here next year?

Oscar Wendt: It’s not something I think about during the game. It all seems very far away out on the pitch. The decision has been made and I intend to enjoy the rest of my time here. But I enjoyed my time at Borussia before the decision as well. I feel very much at home at this club and I love the boys. We have a great team here. That’s what makes it so enjoyable to play for Borussia. But the time has come for my family and I to return to our home country. The timing is just right for us. I’ll give it everything I’ve got for the club in the last two months, just like I always have. We’re hoping to finish the season strongly and the last days here will probably be very emotional, but we have plenty of time before then.

How much does it hurt that you won't be able to say goodbye to 54,000 fans at BORUSSIA-PARK?

Oscar Wendt: Obviously it's a big shame for me that I won't have the chance to play in front of a full BORUSSIA-PARK again and thank the fans for their support, which has been there since day one. The team has always had a great relationship with the fans and it’s a huge loss that we’ve had to play behind closed doors this season. That’s just the way things are at the moment though and you have to deal with it. In the future I hope to return to BORUSSIA-PARK and watch some football, so hopefully I’ll have the opportunity to thank the fans then.

Oscar Wendt made his 300th competitive appearance and 239th Bundesliga appearance for the Foals against SC Freiburg.

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