Hütter: “We’ve got more options again”

Sporting director Max Eberl and head coach Adi Hütter spoke to the press on Thursday ahead of the first Bundesliga away game of the season at Bayer 04 Leverkusen on Saturday evening (18:30 CEST).

Adi Hütter on…

…team news: Our personnel problems have eased a little. Apart from Breel Embolo, Manu Koné and Mamadou Doucouré, I pretty much have everyone at my disposal. Ramy Bensebaini has made a fantastic impression so far and is looking fit. The same goes for Marcus Thuram and Jonas Hofmann, so we’ve got more options again when it comes to the matchday squad.

…picking his starting XI: I’m in the fortunate position of having difficult decisions to make when it comes to the starting XI. Joe Scally has played well and now we’ve got Ramy Bensebaini back too. It’s down to me whether we make a like-for-like change or switch up our system, but I won’t reveal that before the game. If we can keep up this level of competition throughout the season though, it will have a positive effect on our performances.

…his team’s progress tactically: We were too passive in parts against Bayern. We had just as many goalscoring chances as them though, so I was happy with the performance and hope that we can kick on against Leverkusen. We have worked on some tactical elements this week. The guys who had a longer summer break have all reached a certain level now, so I hope that things will get better in that department with each week. It’s a long process though and it will take a while before we can perfect every aspect.

…the Leverkusen game: It’s another difficult match, but also a crucial one that could define the path we take this season. Bayer Leverkusen play attractive football, they have a lot of pace in attack, and they have strengthened defensively too. Saturday will see two good footballing sides go head-to-head and both will look to take the initiative. We have to be compact, tactically disciplined and courageous going forward, as well as look to put our opponents under pressure at the right time.

…new Bayer 04 head coach Gerry Seoane: I’m looking forward to seeing Gerry again. He had been at FC Luzern for six months when he became my successor at Young Boys. He carried on my work with great success, won the Swiss title three years in a row and even won the double. He very much deserves to be in the Bundesliga. We have a lot of mutual respect for each other and will no doubt sit down together at some point soon to catch up and have a chat.

Sporting director Max Eberl on…

…transfer updates: There’s not much to report squad wise. Denis Zakaria remains a Gladbach player. He is still under contract with us and so there’s no reason why he wouldn’t play. Andreas Poulsen is set to go on loan again to a Bundesliga 2 club. That will probably be confirmed today. Anything else is just rumours, so nothing concrete that we can discuss.

…Uwe Kamps’ future: We have reached an agreement with Uwe Kamps and he will give a statement himself soon enough no doubt. He will carry on at Borussia, which we’re delighted about. Uwe is set to become the head of goalkeeper development, which is a very important role. Eugen Polanksi is already responsible for the outfield players on that front, and Uwe will take up a similar position for the goalkeepers.

…the current state of the transfer market: Apart from the odd exception, it’s been a very different transfer window – it’s nice to see that 95% of the footballing world has understood that things don’t always have to be bigger, faster and better, instead concerning themselves more with keeping the club and jobs secure. The majority of clubs in Europe are looking after their budget more and paying more attention to income and expenditure. I hope that there is still a place for this reality down the line. The fallout from the coronavirus pandemic will no doubt carry on for a while yet. Borussia will probably be able to get back on two feet a little quicker than other clubs though, because the good business we have done in recent years means that we’re financially stable.