“Embrace being the underdogs” | OneFootball

The match against the Eagles will be Horst Steffen’s first Bundesliga game as SVW head coach (Photo: W.DE).

Horst Steffen before the Bundesliga opener against Eintracht Frankfurt

The Bundesliga is back! Horst Steffen will take charge of his first Bundesliga game as Werder head coach on Saturday, 23rd August, at 15:30 CEST. In the press conference on Thursday before the duel with Eintracht Frankfurt, he spoke about...

...injuries: “Max Wöber will be out for a while, as will Olivier. We’ve not yet had a diagnosis come through, but it’s a bad injury. It’s still too early for Jens, but I’m hopeful it won’t be too long before he’s back. It’s not a good position to be in, but it isn’t the end of the world. Of course it would be better if we had everyone available. We’ll regroup with those that are still available and re-plan for Saturday. We have a few options in mind.”

...squad availability: “We need to rethink things, especially after Oli’s injury. We’re all working together and trying to come up with some solutions. Obviously we’ve been quite unlucky with injuries, but I’m focused on coming up with real solutions before the game against Frankfurt, rather than wondering about what could have been.”

...the start of the season: “I’m not thinking about what could happen in the next two to five weeks, as quite often something different happens. The opening games are what they are, I’m just looking forward to my first Bundesliga game as Werder head coach and to the fans that are coming with us to Frankfurt.”

“Stay positive and confident”

Mio Backhaus will start in goal for Werder against Frankfurt (Photo: W.DE).

...the mood before the Bundesliga begins: “I’m driven by trying to prepare the team as best I can for Frankfurt. Of course it’s not nice when players are injured and you do notice that the mood tends to change week by week. I’m staying positive and confident though, that’s my principle and if I don’t abide by it then I am out of place here.”

...Michael Zetterer’s transfer to Frankfurt: “Both sides know each other well, but we can’t predict who is going to have the advantage is this game. Since I made my decision last week, I’ve always said how close it was between Zetti and Mio. Mio is now the number one, making this weekend’s set up rather unusual. We have a lot of faith in Mio though and I haven’t seen any difference in him in training in the past week.”

...Mio Backhaus’ upcoming Bundesliga debut: “He can very much look forward to it. He will be focused but there will also be a certain amount of anxiety. Even as head coach I still experience the same sort of tension; it’s perfectly normal. There will also be a lot of excitement too, both for him and for myself. He is confident in himself and has the talent to become a very good goalkeeper.”

...Saturday’s opposition: “We’re going up against a strong and physical side in Eintracht Frankfurt who will have prepared for us well. We need to stand together and be flexible, while also taking advantage of our label as being the ‘underdogs’.”