At the end of the first half of the season, promoted Bochum will look to build on their strong home record against Union Berlin on Saturday. Meanwhile, coach Thomas Reis is tempting Bochum with an additional holiday if the result is good enough.
The weak performance on Tuesday in Bielefeld came somewhat unexpectedly given Bochum’s stability in the weeks before. “That,” judged Thomas Reis, “was not our true colours. “ So Bielefeld should remain a one-time lapse. Especially at home, the Bochum team has been a difficult opponent to play against, picking up three wins and two draws in the last five home games while conceding only three goals in total.
Against Union on Saturday, the promoted team wants to forget the recent disappointing impression and crown an extremely successful calendar year 2021. “For the club,” sums up sporting director Sebastian Schindzielorz, “this was a very special year. “
The return to the Bundesliga after eleven years, then an extremely successful half-year with 20 points already, that was much more than expected. So now it’s a matter of going into the winter break with a correspondingly positive feeling. “The physical and mental freshness is back. Of course, we want to end a special year with a positive result,” says Reis.
Incidentally, it is still unclear how long the mini-break will be at the turn of the year. There is an agreement with the team, says Reis, that he will grant additional Christmas leave for his players depending on the outcome of the match on Saturday. On Sunday after the match, they will meet again at Castroper Straße, then it will be time for a short break. “Of course,” says Reis, “we will continue this year. “
Bochum without Blum and Asano – hope with Holtmann and Danilo Soares
It is already clear that Reis will have to do without Danny Blum and Takuma Asano in the final game. There is still hope for the injured offensive man Gerrit Holtmann, as well as Danilo Soares, who had to leave the pitch after 45 minutes in Bielefeld due to back problems.
Whatever the line-up, Thomas Reis expects an “incredibly poisonous” opponent, physically very present, “they don’t allow much and play extremely straightforward, with a lot of forward momentum.” His resolution for the end of the year at Castroper Straße: “We want to make sure that the Ruhrstadion fortress remains intact against Union.
