After the win against VfL Wolfsburg, VfL Bochum is facing a double in the Bundesliga and in the DFB-Pokal against Mainz 05. This is what the coach says in the run-up to the games.
Thomas Reis, with your first win in the second half of the season you have set an important sporting exclamation mark. How satisfied were you with the game against Wolfsburg?
It was important to start well in the back series. We did a lot of things really well defensively. So I was very satisfied, even if we have room for improvement, but we will work on that.
In terms of personnel, you are spoiled for choice. Up to eight players threaten the grandstand. How do you see the situation?
Konstantinos Stafylidis has returned to training (after his corona infection, editor’s note). He did a full session on Wednesday. It’s a matter of time before he’s physically fully up to speed again. The selection for the squad must therefore be made very precisely, there will be cases of hardship because we have 25 or 26 field players available.
Which game is more important: the one in the league or the DFB Cup game?
I always find it difficult to compare two games. All encounters are important. In the league we want to score points to stay in the league, and if we win we could even overtake Mainz. We also want to progress in the cup, that would be financially very lucrative for the club.
How do you rate Mainz in terms of sport?
We beat Mainz in the cup in the second division season, we defeated Mainz in the Bundesliga. Even if Mainz had great difficulties in terms of personnel. We want to achieve our goal, and we try to perform as well as possible in Mainz. We would like to say that all good things come in threes. gp / cb
Who is not available on Saturday?
Simon Zoller and Paul Grave are not there. Otherwise all players are currently ready for action.
Erhan Masovic returns after the suspension has expired. Will he begin? And if so, are you planning further changes?
I don’t know if I implied that. It’s a tough decision. Armel Bella Kotchap and Maxim Leitsch did very solidly against Wolfsburg. We know that Erhan played his way into the focus in the first half of the season and was now suspended once. We have four center-backs who all have their strengths. We have to look closely to see who is eligible against Mainz.
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