He said what? The Bundesliga Matchday 29 trainer soundbites
The final whistle blows, and the dust settles on the previous ninety minutes. But the press soon wants to get the opinions from the Bundesliga trainers whether they have won, lost, or drawn. Here’s what [...]
The final whistle blows, and the dust settles on the previous ninety minutes. But the press soon wants to get the opinions from the Bundesliga trainers whether they have won, lost, or drawn. Here’s what they had to say following matchday 29.
Augsburg 1-1 VfB Stuttgart
Enrico Maaßen: “We played very well in the first half, being good on the ball and investing a lot in the game. It’s incredibly tough that we had to make five changes due to various knocks and injuries. That meant we lost our power, especially going forward. We started taking big risks, perhaps a bit too much, and that got Stuttgart back in the game.
“All in all, they were able to bring more power off the bench and it’s incredibly annoying to have conceded another goal from a set-piece. We would have loved to have won the game, but the minimum aim was for us to keep the gap to VfB and we’ve done that.”
Sebastian Hoeneß: “It was an intense, fast-paced game – that was what we expected, as Augsburg can really make life difficult for you. They got their reward with the opening goal, and we missed the chance for an equaliser. It was an open, back-and-forth game, but both teams failed to create big chances.
“We were missing some depth – we made some changes for that and things got a huge amount better. We pressed to turn the game in our favour, bit by bit. We defended in a disciplined way, scored the goal late on and then kept pushing for more. We’re not happy with the result, but we’ll take a point and we can be proud of our second-half performance.”
Mainz 3-1 Bayern Munich
Bo Svensson: “It was an extremely difficult first half, luckily we only went into the break 0-1. The second half was a tad better. After the 1-1 you noticed that the belief, the energy, the momentum were there, that we were better then. I’m proud of my boys, including the ones that came on.”
Thomas Tuchel: “There was no need to lose the game, a game that we had under control. We weren’t focused, we weren’t clear enough to score the second goal. We got the equalizer out of absolutely nothing and didn’t have the energy to react to it. Then it goes there and we get three goals in twelve minutes. We couldn’t get up any more.
“When things go wrong, it’s brutally difficult for us as a team to get a key and a spirit to rebel and fight back. The determination, the effectiveness to decide the matter for us were missing. We’re struggling to win games right now. The energy is missing.”
Hertha Berlin 2-4 Werder Bremen
Pal Dardai: “That’s football. I was mentally prepared for a defeat. We conceded a goal straight away, the team was blocked. The pressure was a huge problem, we urgently need to do something to solve the blockage. We don’t need to talk about how the game went, it was a matter of mind in this situation. We weren’t brave, Bremen deserved to win.”
Ole Werner: “The conditions were exceptional today: different stadium but the atmosphere was a home game. The fans carried us. It was important for us to get off to a good start. Then a lot went our way, we defended in a disciplined manner and played football. From my point of view, those were the things that made the difference.”
Hoffenheim 1-3 Köln
Pellegrino Matarazzo: “We started the game okay, the big break came after we conceded a goal. The first half didn’t live up to our expectations. In the second half we didn’t have enough power to turn the game around, we made the wrong decision too many times.”
Steffen Baumgart: “It was a good performance over 90 minutes. The first half was very good. In the second half it was an open exchange of blows. It wasn’t an undeserved win, which we’re very happy to take with us.”
Vfl Bochum 1-5 VfL Wolfsburg
Thomas Letsch: “We did a lot of things well, even if it sounds strange after a 1:5. In the decisive moments we did too badly, made mistakes, made it too easy for the opponent. It didn’t feel like 0: 3 on the pitch. Then after half-time you constrict the opponent, make another catastrophic mistake and it’s 0: 4. But when I see the atmosphere here, how all of Bochum is behind the team, then that makes me optimistic.”
Niko Kovac: “We’re happy, we’re satisfied, the result says a lot about us. We did really well in the first half, we found the free players, we were also a bit lucky in some situations, and we were also very present in defence. What I was definitely not satisfied with, was the second half, but the bottom line is that the win is okay.”
Borussia Dortmund v Eintracht Frankfurt
To follow…
Freiburg v Schalke (Sunday)
Bayer Leverkusen v RB Leipzig (Sunday)
Borussia Mönchengladbach v Union Berlin (Sunday)
What's Your Reaction?
