Seoane ahead of #SGEBMG: “It’ll come down to intensity”

Head coach Gerardo Seoane answered journalists’ questions at the press conference ahead of the Foals’ Bundesliga game at SG Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday (20:30 CET). Here are his most important quotes.

...the squad situation: Apart from the long-term absentees, everyone’s available. Tomáš Čvančara trained with the team on Monday and Tuesday. He’s completely recovered and is available again in Frankfurt. We’ll see on Wednesday evening if he’s starting. Our decision will be made based on our final impressions and tactical considerations. Ko Itakura has made the progress we were hoping for in the last ten days and is now pain-free. He’s still not an option for the game on Wednesday though, because we still need to bring him to the required fitness level. If everything goes well, Ko will be able to take part in the Asian Cup with Japan in January.

...the personnel in central midfield: Rocco Reitz, Manu Koné and Florian Neuhaus are characterised by their dynamism and are more attack-minded. For some compactness in central midfield, we need an anchor in front of the defence. We need a more defensive player there for balance. Chris Kramer can play as a six, but Jule Weigl has been consistent in the first half of the season. He’s very calm on the ball. He’s improved in terms of individual battles, finding space and pressing. He’s also taken his position as captain very seriously and taken on a lot of responsibility along with the whole team council.

...the next opponents: Just like us, Frankfurt had a lot of upheaval in the summer. They lost important players. They’ve also had a new coach from the start of this season in Dino Toppmöller. It’ll take a while for everything to be stable. In some games though, we’ve seen what Eintracht are still capable of and the bags of physical quality they have in their squad.

...the team’s approach to the game: In Frankfurt, it always comes down to intensity and a willingness to enter into individual battles. You can avoid the pressure if you play quickly, but you also have to bring aggression off the ball yourself.