Florian Neuhaus on the upcoming home game against 1. FC Köln, what it’ll come down to in the derby and his personal situation at Borussia.
Flo, you’re preparing for the Rhine Derby on Saturday. What makes this such a special game?
Neuhaus: You can always tell that there’s a special excitement in the air in the week before the derby. You play football for games like these. The whole city, the club, the team and the fans are already buzzing in the days leading up to the match. On the pitch too, derbies do of course have a particularly explosive quality.
You also have to keep your emotions in check...
Neuhaus: Of course we have to keep a cool head. This season though, the games where we’ve been very emotionally fired-up have mostly been good for us. That’s why our approach will be to bring out a lot of emotion on the pitch from the start. We want to carry the fans along with us from the first minute and give everything to win the derby for them.
You lost the reverse fixture 3-1. What lessons can you take from that encounter?
Neuhaus: We didn’t put in a good performance in the reverse fixture, so it’s probably best for us not to dwell on it. The circumstances are completely different now in any case. That’s why we’re only looking forwards and want to do better at the weekend. We know Köln have their strengths, but the main thing is that we play like we have in our last few home games.
In Mainz you put in very different performances in each half. Do you have any explanation for why that might have been the case?
Neuhaus: Mainz were really strong early on, especially from set pieces. They were able to get a real foothold in the game and we didn’t really have an answer to it. But it was important that we showed a reaction in the second half. The tactical changes made our task a lot more straightforward. We can build on that second half, and we’re looking to carry the positives from that game into this one.
You’ve been in the starting eleven for the last five games. How have you managed to tie down a place in the team again?
Neuhaus: In football, it’s often the case that there are certain phases. You can’t let your head drop during a phase in which everything isn’t going perfectly. Therefore, I kept trying to give everything and to impress in training, as well as during my cameo appearances off the bench. I’m doing exactly the same thing now whilst I’m getting more game time. I would always like to give my best and consistently produce what I’m capable of on the pitch.
You’ve not only attracted attention thanks to your creativity on the ball in the last few weeks, but also often thanks to your brave challenges...
Neuhaus: I think that it’s good for our team when we’re physical and put up some resistance. Hence, I just try to do my part. It makes me happy if that has a positive impression on some people. It’s important for me that I stick at it in order to keep this in my game. However, I wouldn’t like to neglect the moments of quality due to this.
Like in Mainz, when you provided a wonderful assist for the equaliser with your cross. Nevertheless, your last goal was a long time ago. A derby goal would be just perfect...
Neuhaus: I scored in the last home game against Bochum, but unfortunately the goal was ruled out. Therefore, I’ll try again on Saturday. Of course it would be great if I could score a derby goal. I scored previously against Köln during the coronavirus pandemic. However, it wasn’t that emotional because the stadium was completely empty. To repeat the whole thing in front of our fans and to ultimately win the derby would be just perfect.
