Farke ahead of #BMGFCB: “Every game has its own story”

Daniel Farke and Roland Virkus faced the media ahead of Gladbach’s clash with Bayern on Saturday (18th February, 15:30 CET).

Daniel Farke on…

…the state of the squad: Marcus Thuram and Joe Scally haven’t trained with the squad this week. We’ll have to see what happens in the final session tomorrow. I am cautiously optimistic about Joe, he’ll probably be able to train tomorrow and may be available on Saturday. I’m a bit more concerned about Marcus, he’ll need to be able to fully train tomorrow. Julian Weigl and Luca Netz are also doubtful. Jule has a stomach bug and wasn’t able to train today, whereas Luca had complaints with his thigh after Wednesday’s session.

…Marcus Thuram, who is yet to pick up a goal or an assist in 2023: Marcus had an outstanding first half of the season but he’s had a bit of a tough time since the turn of the year. It’s often the case that a young player’s confidence will drop a little bit. That’s why it’s important to be honest and open with him and he has our full support. During a period like this, I think he needs a coach who has his back and he has a team that is there for him. He is working hard. I hope that we will have him back in team training soon. I’m sure then he’ll have a good second half of the season.

…how he sees the home game against Bayern: You’re of course not going to be favourites in a game like this. Bayern kept a clean sheet against PSG in the week and they have the likes of Neymar, Messi and Mbappe at their disposal. I believe that in the past we have shown that we are always in contention to pick up points against teams such as Bayern. A game against Bayern is always a highlight, especially at BORUSSIA-PARK. A lot of things will have to come together for us to get something out of it. We don’t see it as a bonus game, but rather as a chance to pick up points and to get a good result.

…the good performances in the big games: It’s difficult to explain why that is. One explanation is that it suits us better when our opponent plays more openly because we have more space to work with on the pitch. You could also say that’s it’s down to the unpredictable nature of the Bundesliga. Look at Augsburg or Bochum, for example, who have also picked up points against the likes of Bayern, Dortmund, Leipzig and Frankfurt. Every game has it’s own story and every game is different.

…the challenge of dealing with the contracts that will expire at the end of the season: My job as head coach is to deal with realities. It’s normal for there to be uncertainty in a situation such as this, when lots of contacts are set to expire. We are aware of that and that is what makes it so challenging. The most important thing is how you deal with this sort of situation. We want to build this club to where we are able to set other goals for ourselves outside of just playing a solid league campaign. I am convinced that we can lay the foundations for that this season.

Roland Virkus on…

…Yann Sommer’s return to BORUSSIA-PARK: Yann had eight and a half years of exceptional performances with us, so it is only logical that we wanted to say goodbye to him properly, which we will do before the game. This has always been the Borussia way, we phoned him and he is looking forward to it. I also think that our fans are looking forward to it.

…fans’ criticism of the current sporting situation: Up until the home game against BVB, we were exactly on the verge of where we wanted to be. The recent results with defeats in Augsburg and at Hertha are not satisfactory and I understand any fan that is unhappy. This is not what we aspire to and we have to do everything to get things back to where they were.

…dealing with the defeat inside the team: It was clear to me that there would be set-backs during the season. We discuss that with the team and believe me, the player are very self-critical. Our task now is keep working on our development.

…his personal role as sporting director: I was clear from the beginning that I wasn’t taking over an easy job. In a process like this, it is completely normal that we are being critically scrutinised, especially when it’s not going so well. We are working to get back to where we want to be. It is a bumpy road, but I’m still 100% convinced that together we will get there.

Marcus Thuram is doubtful for the Bayern game.
Roland Virkus: "Our task now is keep working on our development."

17.02.2023

Jordan: "The last eight games are very important"

In an interview, Jordan spoke about the start of this week’s training, Gladbach’s upcoming clash with SC Freiburg (Saturday, 15:30 CET) and his season so far.

27.03.2024

Reitz and Netz celebrate EURO qualifying victory with Germany U21s

Rocco Reitz and Luca Netz ran out 2-0 winners over Israel in their EURO 2025 qualifying match for the Germany U21s in Slovakia. Austria’s senior side, featuring Max Wöber and Stefan Lainer, thrashed Türkiye in a friendly.

27.03.2024

Jordan back in team training as Foals prepare for #BMGSCF

Even in the absence of the majority of their international players, preparations for Gladbach’s home game against Freiburg on Saturday (15:30 CET) are underway. Ko Itakura has returned from international duty, but took no part in Tuesday’s session due to illness.

26.03.2024