After the morning session on Wednesday, Frankfurt midfielder Djibril Sow answered questions from the media representatives at the training ground. Ahead of the clash with FC Bayern, the 25-year-old talked about …
.. the atmosphere after the defeats in Cologne and against Wolfsburg: “Of course, the mood is not so good when you lose two games that you really shouldn’t lose. We lacked a bit of lightness in the last few weeks, which also affects the mood. But in three years here, I have never experienced a poisoned atmosphere, not even now. Of course we are dissatisfied and have to be honest with each other that it was too little for what we want to achieve in the last few weeks. That’s why everyone has to tighten the screws again, then the moments of success will come back. In the first half of the season, we also started to win our games late. We have to stay positive, on Saturday we can expect a highlight match against FC Bayern in front of 25,000 fans in the stadium. “
Sow: “We almost never reward ourselves for our effort “
.. the reasons for the recent downward trend: “Football is relatively simple. If we play our attack properly in Cologne in the 80th minute, the ball comes across and we make it 1-0, everyone says: great fight in Cologne! Instead, we get a bitter goal a few minutes later. Nevertheless, we have to improve our individual and team performance, fight our way in and have moments of success again. We almost never reward ourselves for our efforts. We have to be a bit more consistent – and also honest with each other.”
.. the impact of little things: “If we don’t lose the game against Dortmund like that, maybe we’ll talk about other things now. Little things have put us on such a trajectory; even in Augsburg we had the chances to make it 2-0. Now we’re back in this phase where things just don’t go our way. The phase towards the end of the first half was exactly the opposite. We came back from behind or took the first chance. Now we have to fight very, very hard for these moments of success. But I’m positive that we can turn this around because the morale in the team is incredible.”
.. the tone sharpened after the 0:1 in Cologne: “We saw in the final training that we played the chances sloppy again – and training doesn’t lie. The next day we had a lot of chances where we didn’t even finish. That is, they weren’t even chances, but would have been 100 per cent if we had got the ball over. It’s very, very annoying that we couldn’t make the most of that. We have to be unpleasant sometimes. Everyone has to pull themselves up and demand that they do that first in training and then again in the game. “
.. Top performers in a slump in form: “If the top performers aren’t in top form, it’s also more difficult for the other players who haven’t been with us that long to deliver top performances. That’s why our aim is to perform individually first, then the team will also become stronger again.”
… the difficult phase of Jesper Lindström and Daichi Kamada: “Jesper had a great phase at the end of the first half, he was in the flow and everything was going well. Now he is cramped after the missed chances. That’s normal for a young player, he has to be able to deal with that. We support him, but the last part is up to him. He has to take the advice, stay calm and believe in his strengths. Daichi knows exactly what is important. Every player can have a bad phase, we are not all in top form. Daichi is an outstanding individual player in our offence and normally a key contributor. With him, the offensive falls and rises. That’s why we have to support him, but of course you also have to talk straight after the game.”
.. the hope that the game against Bayern will be a turning point, as it was in the Hinrunde: “We can’t rely on turning things around again against Bayern. I just want us as a team to put in a performance again that we can be proud of in the dressing room afterwards, and that the fans can be proud of as well. What will come out of it? I think there’s a good chance we can get something then. “
.. the requirements against Bayern: “We have to play fast and bravely forward, show accuracy and cold-bloodedness. Against Bayern, you can’t expect to get three or four big chances, you have to be able to take one. When you look at how few goals we’ve scored in the last few games, that’s simply not enough. We have to get better again. If we develop our enthusiasm and are brave, we can hurt them. With 25,000 fans behind us, a lot is possible. “
.. the psychological effect of having beaten Bayern in the last two home games as well: “In the past, you’ve seen that we have an easier time against supposedly bigger teams than against teams from the lower third of the table or at eye level. This look back is certainly good for us. We played great games against Bayern, Leverkusen and Dortmund. Now we’re trying to take that into Saturday and get rid of the bad mood after the last few games. “
