Farke ahead of #BMGB04: “We need a lot of emotion and a strong mentality”

At the pre-match press conference before the Bundesliga home game against Bayer 04 Leverkusen (Sunday, 17:30 CET), head coach Daniel Farke and sporting director Roland Virkus spoke to the media. Here’s what they had to say.

Daniel Farke on…

… team news for Sunday: Things look very good overall. Yvandro Borges Sanches is injured and isn’t available, while there is a question mark over the availability of Marcus Thuram, who couldn’t train with the team the whole week. We’ll wait and see whether he’s completely free of pain in tomorrow’s training session. He’s such an important player for us that we’ll do everything to have him with us on Sunday.

… first impressions of Jonas Omlin: He’s made a good first impression. We had the chance yesterday to chat for a little bit; he’s a really positive, reflective and intelligent person. He has been one of the best goalkeepers in the Ligue 1 in France recently and he looked good in training. We’re looking forward to him being part of the club going forward..

… Omlin potentially playing on Sunday: There are not many reasons why he shouldn’t play. However, we’ll make a decision closer to kick off because he only arrived yesterday and wasn’t involved in any of our preparations. But he’s an experienced player and he’s currently in a good rhythm; he’s played four competitive fixtures for Montpellier since the winter break.

… Leverkusen’s strengths: Bayer Leverkusen are a team who are used to playing in Europe and being around the top end of the table. There is a lot of quality and potential in their team; they have a lot of technically-gifted players and a lot of speed in their ranks. It will be a tough task for us.

… Borussia’s approach to the game: We have to be very smart with our tactics and make sure that Leverkusen don’t get the space in the game to use their speed and quality. We also have to defend well out of possession and establish a lot of possession for ourselves. It will be an important game that will demand a lot of emotion and a strong mentality from us. I’m also counting on our fans. We need the help of BORUSSIA-PARK to overcome them.

… His opposite number in Leverkusen, Xabi Alonso: He was a world-class player and won everything that there is to win as a player. He was a key icon of a lot of club and everything that you experience as a player is useful to you later on when you’re a coach, so there is nothing standing in the way of his career. Leverkusen have been performing well under him. I have a lot of respect for his work and I’m looking forward to the game.

… Midweek games to kick of the return of the Bundesliga: Having three games in six days straight away is a big ask. On top of that, our away games against Ausgburg and Hoffenheim aren’t exactly rivalries. That’s the only criticism from me. We’ll create the best conditions for our players; that’s a focus for next week. First of all we have the game against Leverkusen asd that’s what we’re focused on. If we get a good result on Sunday that we can take momentum from, that will obviously help us get positive results in the two games next week.

… His expectations for Florian Neuhaus in the second half of the season: Flo was out for four-and-a-half-months. In football there’s a belief that it takes you as long as you were out for you to get back to where you were. We’re just hoping it doesn’t take him that long. Obviously he’s not at 100% at the moment, but he’s made a good impression and I’m hoping that he continues in the same way. It’s important that he doesn’t get impatient. He’ll get all the possible time and trust from our side to get back to the level. I’m confident that he’ll be important for us for the rest of the season.

Roland Virkus on…

… Xabi Alonso and Leverkusen’s performances under him: He was definitely a fantastic player. But it’s too early to judge what kind of football he likes to play as a coach. Particularly at the beginning of a spell as coach of a new club, you're always going to be tweaking ideas. Leverkusen have technically strong and, above all, fast players. Whether Leverkusen's style of play is similar to ours is something that we will probably only be able to judge towards the end of the season.

… More potential departures in the winter transfer window: As of right now, everyone is due to stay here, including Marcus Thuram and Ramy Bensebaini. We know that their contracts are coming to an end and that they’re wanted, because they are good players. Like before, we’ll continue to do everything to convince them both to stay, but I can’t promise anything.