“We have to play at a high intensity”
Jesse Marsch speaks to the media before the away game at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim | Yussuf Poulsen has suffered a muscle strain and will miss out | Kick off in Sinsheim on Saturday at 15:30 CET
The international break is over and the Bundesliga is back! After numerous RBL players were away with their countries over the last week, league action returns this Saturday.
Ahead of the away game at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, coach Jesse Marsch spoke to the media about the upcoming task and gave an update on their squad. Yussuf Poulsen will miss the next few games after straining a muscle.
Jesse Marsch on...
...TSG 1899 Hoffenheim:
- “They are definitely a strong footballing team. They have great players, build play up nicely, are dangerous from set pieces and are also hard to play at home. It will be a difficult challenge for us. We will have to play at a high intensity and we will need to show our quality on the ball. We have to make sure that Hoffenheim need to do more defending than attacking on Saturday.”
…his thoughts on the win over Dortmund:
- “I was pleased with the performance above all. We played with a lot of conviction. If we were more clinical in the final third, we could have scored more goals too. The most important thing was that we continued working after conceding the equaliser. We controlled the game for large parts, which wasn’t often the case against Dortmund in the past. The lads finally got their reward for their hard work. It was an incredibly important moment for us.”
The lads finally got their reward for their hard work.
…the current Corona situation:
- “A large percentage of the team is vaccinated and the lads are following the rules closely. It’s tiring for everyone, but we have to adjust to the new measures. We’re all just pleased to be able to continue doing our day-to-day jobs and to be able to spend time together – that’s the most important thing. Our task is now to prepare for the next game.”
…Yussuf Poulsen’s absence:
- “Yussi’s injury is obviously not good news for us. In my opinion, he’s in the best form of his career so far. He’s still young though, so I’m confident that he’ll be back in no time.”
...Brian Brobbey:
- “He’s in good form and he’s finally fit. It wasn’t easy for him when he joined and he had to accept his role. Brian’s got a great personality, he enjoys playing football and he’s always remained positive. Now he’s got a big chance to show his qualities. We need him now! I asked him if he’s ready and he said “I am!”
…a conversation with Germany coach Hansi Flick:
- “I got to know him last year and we were able to discuss our experiences. He’s a great guy and he’s really intelligent. We’ve got similar ideas of football, which makes a conversation naturally more enjoyable. I’ve got a lot of respect for his work. We also spoke about Lukas Klostermann and Marcel Halstenberg. We discussed what roles they can take on within a team.”
Current squad news:
- Yussuf Poulsen is unavailable due to a muscle strain he suffered during the international break. He will be out for around three to four weeks.
- Amadou Haidara and Joško Gvardiol came back with slight knocks from international duty, though they are both fit and ready to play now.
- Willi Orban and Lukas Klostermann used the international break to get fit and are available to face TSG.
- Marcel Halstenberg can rejoin team training in a few weeks.