Rose: “Focused on the task at hand”

Head coach Marco Rose and sporting director Max Eberl spoke to the media ahead of Sunday’s home game against Arminia Bielefeld (18:00 CEST).

Head coach Marco Rose on…

…the personnel: Christoph Kramer was taken off with a knock in Sinsheim. We will have to wait and see how things look during training later today. Lars Stindl is still unavailable (muscle injury), as are Torben Müsel and Julio Villalba (both in rehabilitation). Yann Sommer will return after serving his red card suspension. 

…the recent defeat in Sinsheim: We were all very disappointed. Especially given that we were 2-0 ahead at half time and then went on to lose 3-2. It’s also not the first time that’s happened this season, we’ve thrown away three two-goal leads already. I think that the lads were able to draw the right conclusions from the game - namely, that we weren’t good enough in order to win on the day. However, it’s never an issue of mentality or the wrong mindset with us, instead it comes down to how we react to certain things that happen in the game. We need to learn how to focus on the situation that’s coming and how it could be dangerous. Right now, however, we need to be fully focused on our next challenge against Arminia Bielefeld. 

…his views on the current season: I think we’ve improved on our positioning from how it was at the beginning of the season. Then came the Champions League and we had several games to play. We’ve also lacked a bit of luck this season, but won’t use that as an excuse. That would be the easy way out. You have to work to get lucky. We’ve dropped too many points so far. The team have a lot of quality and have the right mindset. The problems we’ve had over the past weeks can only be solved with positive results. We’re currently chasing after our goals. Overall, however, the team are motivated to achieve these. They will have to showcase this quality on the pitch once again on Sunday against Bielefeld. That will be extremely important, and I trust that they will do so. 

...the upcoming opponent: Bielefeld are an extremely aggressive and tough side. They are solid in defence and manage to use their chances up front as well. They deservedly won against Schalke and Freiburg. They’ve made sure to adjust their formation when coming up against top teams like Leipzig. They also play with a lot of intensity. 

…Denis Zakaria: Many forget that Zak is coming off a severe knee injury and that he’s played a lot over the last weeks, considering his situation. We need to make sure that we’re not overworking him. Prior to the Hoffenheim game, on Monday morning, he admitted that he’s still not feeling 100% yet. It’s a double header week, so we would prefer to play someone like Christoph Kramer, who is 100% fit and has delivered strong performances already this season. We will take a look at how Denis progresses ahead of the Bielefeld game. 

Sporting director Max Eberl on…

…the quarantine training camp: In order to make sure that we can finish the season, it makes sense to minimize the risk of infection as much as possible. Although it’s still possible to get infected at the hotel during quarantine, at least it’s easier there to know exactly which players have been in contact with each other. That’s why this concept makes sense, because all of us want to finish the season. Domestic leagues are extremely important to determine who qualifies for the international competitions, as well as promotion and relegation. We don’t have the option of adding games on at the end, which is why these final matchdays are being treated as a priority. I think this is both the logical and correct decision. 

...potential changes to the squad: I think that the transfer market will pick up later than usual this year. The clubs will first need to see how this season ends and what they will be able to count as part of their plans for the new season. There are still plenty of uncertainties to keep in mind at the moment. There are ongoing discussions at Borussia, but I don’t think we’ll see any decisions made over the next three or four weeks about players such as Denis Zakaria or Matthias Ginter. Both are still under contract until next year, which means there’s no rush. We will have to wait and see if there are any changes or if someone has other thoughts. This also applies to Valentino Lazaro, whose loan is set to come to an end, as well as Ibrahima Traoré, whose contract is up this season. 

...future squad planning: Due to the financial impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic, we will have to consider how the squad will look for the coming season. We have a good squad right now, and a large one at that, which we will continue to have in the upcoming season. It remains to be seen how large the squad will be. It could be the case that it’s a bit smaller, due to financial reasons. However, this also offers our academy players an opportunity to break through.

Head coach Marco Rose
Sporting director Max Eberl

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