Borussia’s managing director for sport Roland Virkus on the Foals’ start to the season, their development and rejuvenation process.
Roland, about a third of the Bundesliga season is behind us. What’s your assessment after eleven matchdays?
Virkus: We’re still in the middle of a process that will contain good phases but also worse phases. All in all, I’m pleased with the team’s development, but we’ve got too few points on the board compared to what we’ve shown on the pitch. Recently against Wolfsburg, we controlled the game in a lot of phases, but there were still some things that we have to improve on. We were of course happy about the comfortable result, but we can’t let that hide this fact.
How pleased were you that Borussia kept a clean sheet for the first time this season?
Virkus: I was really pleased, particularly for Moritz Nicolas, but also the whole team, who, even when leading 4-0, gave everything as a unit to end the game with a clean sheet. In pre-season, we thought a lot about who was going to score our goals, as our top scorers from last season had all left. We seem to have made up for these outgoings really well, because lots of different players have contributed at the top end of the pitch. What we weren’t good at in the first few matches was defending as a team. We just conceded too many goals. That’s why we’re happy that the tactical steps we’ve taken are gradually working.
Borussia have earned seven points from the last three Bundesliga games and have also moved into the next round of the DFB-Pokal. Is the team more stable now than it was at the start of the season?
Virkus: The plans and processes are becoming increasingly clear – you could see that in the game against Wolfsburg, but also in long periods of the three matches before that. Stability always depends on stability of personnel. If the same players are always available and you can study things in training, you increase the probability of success. It also depends on the structure on the pitch, and the team are learning that week by week. We’re getting better and better at reacting tactically or in terms of personnel to the opponent or how the match is going.
Tomáš Čvančara opened the scoring on Friday. He’s 23 years old, just like Nathan Ngoumou. Manu Koné is 22, Rocco Reitz is 21, and Luca Netz and Joe Scally are only 20. All of them are key players for Gladbach. Fabio Chiarodia has also made a few appearances recently and has only just turned 18. What does that say about the club?
Virkus: Before the season started, we committed to getting back on track and using young players more. The risks of taking an approach like this were clear to us, but we’ve shown courage and it’s paid off so far. We’ve got a few young players in our ranks that have been developing very nicely. For example, Luca Netz has come a long way if you compare where he was at the start of the season to where he is now. At the moment he’s not really getting forward much. Instead, he’s taking on more responsibility at the back. Joe Scally has also taken a step in the right direction and can play in a back three now.
You get the feeling that there isn’t a definite starting XI this season, rather a lot of players in each position who could play...
Virkus: It makes sense when you consider that we’ve improved our squad depth. The head coach has also been successful in utilising the whole squad and making all the players feel valued. The fact that we’ve got so many players on a similar level puts us in a good position to quickly adapt to any opponent.
Head coach Gerardo Seoane said that something happened to the team after the shock 3-1 defeat against Köln and that they’ve been a lot closer on the pitch since then. What do you think of the team’s development since the derby?
Virkus: I’m in the same boat as Gerardo. Communication is always important. You didn’t see the players talk to each other, support each other, or advise each other in the loss against Köln. But, since then, you can definitely see that there’s been a change in the side. The Köln game gave the team a reason to question why things were going badly and also gave them the chance to turn things around afterwards.
There are still five Bundesliga games, as well as the DFB-Pokal clash against Wolfsburg, to go until the winter break. How do you expect these matches to go?
Virkus: We still view this season as a development process. If the boys continue to improve in all areas as they have been, our chances of success improve. It’s nice to be where we are in the table at the moment, but things won’t be plain sailing all season. Even so, we’ve got to stick with the approach we’ve taken and work on continuing to improve.
