Purely genetically, the most intense exercise of the Thursday morning training session at BVB suited Julian Brandt. but to pass the balls to each other with his hand and finish them off with his head.
It was always amusing, both when they were playing and when they were watching. Whether Brandt, whose mother Heike used to play handball, could gain a real advantage from it, however, remained open. At least he stood confidently in the media round after the unit and talked about …
.. the insights from the game at TSG Hoffenheim: “Of course, conceding goals is a problem that still happens to us too often in the season, we concede too many goals. We often defend well, but not consistently over the 90 minutes. That will also be an issue against Leverkusen, and we won’t be able to solve that overnight. We have to keep at it, even if it’s a bit annoying in the long run. You don’t do it on purpose. I think everyone begrudges Gregor Kobel a few games to zero. The opponents have a very good attack and especially against Leverkusen it can be a very good step forward if we concede as few goals as possible. “
.. the many goals conceded: “We have been playing a very high and very extreme pressing since this season. I don’t think you can perfect that within months. I played pressing for two and a half years under Roger Schmidt. It’s not all that easy, every detail really has to work in the end. And if one or two guys are missing in the pressing or you don’t do it 100 per cent consistently, it’s easy for the opponent to play out of it. The spaces are extremely big for the opponent. I think we are in a developmental phase at the moment and we haven’t perfected it yet. Nevertheless, I think we should keep at it because it gives us a lot of opportunities. The Freiburg game is the best example. When it was 3-0 through Erling Haaland, we won the ball in the opponent’s half and then didn’t have far to go to score. It’s always difficult because you want everything to work immediately and be perfectly executed straight away, but a style of play like that just takes time too.”
… the training focus during the break: “Yesterday we trained very intensively one-on-one, both offensively and just defensively. So a lot of one-on-one, two-on-two, of course also eleven-on-eleven. We have to be compact and defend in the penalty area – that’s the topic. The coach will put more emphasis in the next few days where he feels we can improve.”
… the upcoming match against former club Leverkusen: “Of course I’m always happy to play against the club because I still know a lot of people there and played with many of them. But I also know that in the last few years the games were always very turbulent. There have always been a lot of goals, both in Leverkusen and in Dortmund. Basically, I believe that we simply have to prepare very, very well, that we have to continue where we left off in the last games, even if they weren’t really tense. We have to be focused, Leverkusen have always been a good team in the last few years. “
.. a possible absence of Erling Haaland: “We already had a phase in the season where Erling was injured and we managed that relatively reasonably. From that point of view, I’m basically not worried because we simply have good players. For us midfielders and for all the other offensive players, it would mean that we would have to score more goals. But there, too, I’m in good spirits and have confidence in the boys. So, of course, we hope that things will go as quickly as he hopes with Erling. But on the other hand, I’m not afraid of the next few weeks because Erling is a little bit injured. There are enough guys sitting there who can provide assists and score goals.”
..on his performances: “It’s about continuing there. At the end of the Hinrunde, the game in Berlin was a thorn in my side, that was a bitter night. What I was often accused of in the last year or two was the lack of scorer points. I’m sticking to that, I want to continue to score. Of course, the performance on the pitch has to be right, that goes without saying. That’s a process for me, too, and I’m sure there will be one or two games where people aren’t satisfied with me. The expectations are high, I know that, but on the whole I’m sticking to myself and I’m confident that things will continue in the second half of the season as they did in the first half. “
..remaining goals for the current season: “That will show and develop. For now, we are extremely well advised to be humble over the next few weeks and approach it with a very high level of seriousness, not thinking too far outside the box. Of course, it’s always nice to talk about certain season goals and get ideas about what it would be like at Borsigplatz. But in the end, that’s the wrong approach. I think we are well advised, especially with the results of the past one or two months, to concentrate on the essentials. Of course I want to achieve the optimum and win every game. But it’s not that easy in the end, there’s extreme resistance. If we continue like this in the Bundesliga, I’ll take the cup game out of it, it’s a good trend and we have to continue it.”
.. the upcoming games in the Europa League: “The competition has become a bit more attractive with the introduction of the Conference League. We are now playing in Glasgow, which is also a nice destination for football romantics. I think we’re really up for it, despite all the disappointment that we didn’t make it through the winter in the Champions League. But sometimes in life you have to accept things as they are. In the end, there is an opportunity in every competition. We are happy to be in this competition and we will try to go as far as we can. “
.. his national team career: “The year I wasn’t there was not nice, of course. I’ve been with the national team for four years, so when you’re not with it for a year, it’s quite an adjustment and you have to swallow at first. For me, it’s important to stick with it and continue to fight for a place there. I have a very good exchange with the coach. In the end, it all comes down to performance in the club. That’s what the national coach attaches the most importance to. If all that works, I’m confident that it can continue. Despite all that, of course I have to give everything during the international phases, because we have extremely good players at the moment. You can see what’s coming up, it’s unbelievable. But I don’t think my time in the national team is over. It’s just that it’s had an annoying bend, but in the end I won’t let that drag me down. “