For Stefan Leitl, announcing bad news has become an annoying routine. The press conference before the home game against Union Berlin was no exception. Because goalkeeper Marius Funk suffered a serious knee injury in training on Thursday, Sascha Burchert will return to the goal.
“The exact diagnosis is still pending, but we will miss Marius for half a year,” announced the Kleeblatt coach on Friday lunchtime. “He got caught in the turf during a game shape and twisted his knee without any outside influence. “ Funk had replaced the hapless Burchert after Matchday 6, but ultimately did no better.
Now the renewed, forced change. “Sascha behaved excellently, was very committed and concentrated in training and always lurked for his chance,” Leitl said of the promoted goalkeeper, calling him “an absolute team player “ Leitl’s expectation of Burchert for Sunday: “He has communicated a lot from the outside recently, he should take that onto the pitch, coach the front men and remember his strengths.
Leitl annoyed by the winless weeks
Speaking of reflection: Leitl was harsh on his team after the 1:7 in Leverkusen, saying this was the right thing to do. “I have the expectation that the boys show a different attitude in the game. It’s not enough to be there, we have to be felt. And what greater incentive is there than to score?” the coach asked rhetorically. For him, the situation with only one point from 14 games is “absolutely unsatisfactory. It annoys me, my drive is to do better with my team. “
Opponents Union had to bow out of the Conference League on Thursday night. “They play no-frills, very robust and with a big physical presence. We have to counter that, defend the second balls and standards well,” Leitl warned, concluding: “It’s time to prove we can win a game in this league.” That would finally be good news.
