Jantschke: “I want to exemplify the Borussia spirit”

Veteran Tony Jantschke on his upcoming landmark, his role in the team and the approaching away game at SV Darmstadt.

Tony, you could make your 300th competitive appearance for Borussia at the weekend. What does that mean to you?

Jantschke: You can be proud of these kinds of statistics when your career is over. At the moment, these numbers aren’t so important to me. It would be a lot more meaningful anyway just to have played my first and hopefully my last ever games at Borussia, so that I’d have only appeared for this club my whole career. How many games that’ll be in the end is secondary.

You made your first Bundesliga appearance of the season in the last home game, a 2-1 defeat to FC Bayern München. How did it feel for you to be back out on the pitch?

Jantschke: I know my role in the team, and of course it’s always a little surprising when you’re substituted on during a match as a defender. But I also got to play because I give good performances. I love to help the team on the pitch.

How do you define your role in the squad?

Jantschke: My job has been clearly laid out by the coaches. My body has had to take one or two injuries during my career, so I’m not in a position anymore to play 34 whole Bundesliga games in a season. But in every training session I prepare myself to be able to be there for the team if I’m needed. I want to encourage competitiveness and exemplify the Borussia spirit through effort and commitment. But that doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t rather be starting every game (grins).

At 33, you’re one of the veterans in the squad. How do you pass your experience on to the younger players?

Jantschke: I think it’s important not to act like a head teacher, but to exemplify the values and actions instead of just talking about them. I can only pass my experiences onto the younger players. It used to always help me when older players pushed me. I also have to say though that the young players today are already very well-educated. But it definitely helps to keep getting feedback and therefore get a better picture of yourself and your performances.

Borussia have undergone a rebuild in the summer. How do you perceive the mood in the team currently?

Jantschke: The mood is very realistic. We all know the situation in which we find ourselves and that there’s a big change going on. Nevertheless, we’re not satisfied with one point from three games. We must therefore see to it that we now get some points on the board.

You left the pitch to applause in both of the last two home games despite losing. What does that do for the team?

Jantschke: We’re developing a new team spirit, and of course that takes time. It’s just time is unfortunately something that you rarely get in professional sport. The fans are absolutely behind the team. Feeling this level of belief helps us massively in our current position. It definitely gives the team momentum.

In the last few days, it was somewhat emptier at the training ground due to the absence of international players. Has that made it different to a normal week?

Jantschke: Yes, definitely. Some of the international players are coming back from intense weeks and the workloads are completely different, so everyone trains a little differently. In this way, we’re lucky that our game in Darmstadt is on Sunday evening. By then, everyone should be back to the right level.

What will it all come down to in Darmstadt?

Jantschke: Darmstadt are a very physical team who will play a physical game – we found that out during our cup elimination last season. We want to put that behind us, take another step forwards and of course get something from the game.