Sporting director Max Eberl and head coach Adi Hütter spoke today ahead of Saturday’s away match against VfL Wolfsburg (15:30 CEST).
Coach Adi Hütter on...
...player availability: Marcus Thuram (knee), Stefan Lainer (ankle) and Mamadou Doucouré (Achilles’ tendon) are all recovering but remain unavailable. Ramy Bensebaini trained individually again today, but he won’t be an option for the weekend. Yann Sommer did some recovery training today and will be back in full training tomorrow.
...approaching the next game: We want to pick things up in Wolfsburg from where we left off against Dortmund. It will be crucial to play in the same manner on Saturday. Another good result would do us good before the international break!
...their away record so far: Up to now we have consistently put in performances at home, but away from home hasn't been good enough. We have to do a lot better in Wolfsburg than we have in our previous away matches. We have to start matching the courage and commitment we show at home. If we manage that we will start getting positive results on our travels.
...who will play in central midfield: Denis Zakaria and Manu Koné held their own physically against BVB, and also were very convincing on the ball. It was a midfield line-up that worked for that game. It would also have worked well with Florian Neuhaus in that position. The important thing is that we have options.
...relying on younger players: Some of the younger players like Joe Scally, Luca Netz and Manu Koné are getting chances to play at the moment because some of the others are injured or out of form. They haven’t disappointed and the way they have approached things has been bold and refreshing. They provide more competition for places and that can only make the team stronger.
...the upcoming opponent: VfL Wolfsburg maybe aren’t a team with a massive history, but over the last few years they have been an important part of the Bundesliga. They have the finances to build a good squad and they manage well with that budget. This season they have been difficult to play against as they are tactically disciplined and strong physically.
...Luca Netz and Jordan Beyer getting called up to the Germany U21 squad: I spoke to Antonio di Salvo over the phone and we talked about them both. Luca absolutely deserved his first call-up given the way he has been playing. Jordan Beyer has also been playing well in the last few weeks. I’m very happy for both of them.
Sporting director Max Eberl on...
...the young players: Bringing in young players and relying on them is how we want to develop. This way of doing things has brought us success over the last 13 years, during my time as sporting director, and it’s the only way we can do things at Borussia Mönchengladbach. It’s always nice when we uncover talent that can quickly come into the team. They will sometimes suffer dips in form but Adi Hütter is not afraid to pick young players for the big fixtures, which is also a good thing.
...the possible relaxation of Covid restrictions: We will find out about the new rules soon. Of course we hope that we will be able to allow more people to attend matches at BORUSSIA-PARK, and start selling out the stadium. Nevertheless, we have to be mindful of the public’s health. There are still a lot of questions that need to be answered.
...injury problems over the last few weeks: We can’t ignore the fact that last week, BVB were without two very important players in Marco Reus and Erling Haaland. But we have also been plagued by injuries recently without making a song and dance about it. That was never an excuse for us. We have a good and balanced squad, but when Marcus Thuram, Breel Embolo, Stefan Lainer or Ramy Bensebaini are missing for long periods of time, that is bound to have an effect on the team.
