At VfL Bochum, Milos Pantovic stands for the very special goals, among other things. Whether the fine technician will be part of the starting eleven on Saturday in Augsburg, however, is still completely open.
Milos Pantovic recently attracted attention again, especially with his magnificent goal in the 2:1 against SC Freiburg. Against Hoffenheim, he even scored from 66 metres.
It is clear that the Munich-born attacking player, who also trained with FC Bayern, stands for very special goals. The ones that require a special shooting technique, a good overview and, of course, the courage to try from a great distance.
Augsburg already had Pantovic once
Naturally, the 25-year-old is now also eager to finally be in the starting eleven, such as in the cup match against FC Augsburg, when he even scored twice. So now Augsburg again – with Pantovic starting?
Of course, Thomas Reis is still leaving that open, but it is foreseeable that he is actually relying on other players in the centre. “Against Freiburg”, “I had decided on greater stability in the centre, that’s why he was out initially. Anthony Losilla, Eduard Löwen and Elvis Rexhbecaj are doing really well in the centre.” No easy decision before the game at FCA, who currently have three points less on their account than VfL Bochum.
Reis gives the “magic foot” hope: “His time is coming “
“Beyond that “, the VfL coach notes, “of course it’s also ideal to be able to add on with a magic foot like Pantovic, depending on the situation. “ And he says quite clearly: “His time will come.”
The trio listed stands for stability; Reis will probably not want to do without any of these three players on Saturday in Augsburg. The coach has already made it clear that he sees the man for the goals from distance more in the centre than on the flanks. The quick, agile players like Gerrit Holtmann or Christopher Antwi-Adjei are more likely to come into their own there.
So is there once again no place for Patovic in the first line-up? Not inconceivable, but rather far-fetched, seems the possibility of leaving Sebastian Polter out and nominating Pantovic as (hanging) point, i.e. doing without a real centre-forward. Polter’s size and power alone would seem to make him a good choice, even though he scored against Freiburg but was rarely convincing overall.
Leitsch: “In the long run, his quality will prevail “
Similarly exciting at the moment is the personnel matter of Maxim Leitsch. The central defender, who was in the starting eleven 33 times during the promotion season, celebrated his brief comeback against Freiburg. And for the first time since the first matchday, he is back in the first formation? “In the long run “, says Reis, “his quality will probably prevail, no question. Whether that will be as early as Saturday, I’ll leave open. “
