“We’re in a fortunate position”

RB Leipzig welcome Eintracht Frankfurt to the Red Bull Arena on Saturday (15:30 CET), as the Bundesliga gets started once again.

How did the first week back after the winter training camp go? What does head coach Marco Rose make of the upcoming opponents? And who’s available for our first game of 2024?

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Marco answered all this and more in Friday’s press conference. Read what he had to say below.
 

Squad news | 12th January

• Willi Orban (knee injury) continues to work towards his comeback with individual training.
   
• Amadou Haidara has travelled with the Mali national football team to compete in the Africa Cup of Nations and won’t be available for the game at the weekend as a result.
   
• Dani Olmo has recovered from his shoulder injury and is an option for the matchday squad tomorrow.
   
• Lois Openda, Xavi and Mo Simakan have picked up four yellow cards in the Bundesliga this season and will receive a one-match ban if they’re booked again.

Find all the latest squad news here.
 

Marco Rose on…

…Eintracht Frankfurt

• “They’ve picked up two good players. Donny van de Beek was really good for Ajax. His career has stalled somewhat since he joined Manchester United, but that doesn’t mean that he’s lost any of his quality.

  I’ve been familiar with Sasa Kalajdzic for a number of years. I’ve kept my eye on him since my time as a coach in Austria. He went down his own path and proved in Stuttgart that he’s got enough quality to help a team out at this level. He’s had a couple of injuries recently that sidelined him for quite a while.

  That being said, everyone knows what kind of player he is – a target man, but not just for long balls. You can play the ball to his feet as, despite his size, he’s very strong in possession. He also has natural instincts in the box. Sasa is very, very good in the air, which will come into play in Saturday’s game.

  The fundamental way that Eintracht play isn’t going to change. SGE are a team who play with a lot of intensity, work hard in defence and have a lot of pace on the flanks. They start attacks really well through the centre and down the wings.

  It means that we’ll have to deal with the issue of crosses. It’s definitely not a surprise. In the past, they haven’t crossed much, but that should change now with Sasa as a target man. We’re aware of this, however, and we’ve prepared for it. We’ll need to defend against this.”
   

Marco Rose über…

…Lukas Klostermann’s contract extension

• “He had the right to take his time and consider his next step. At 27, he’s in his prime and a German international, so obviously he’d want to think about his future a bit more.

  However, it’s always been clear to us that extending his contract would have a lot of benefits. He knows the city and club well, having been here for nearly 10 years. He feels comfortable at RB Leipzig and knows that we have a lot of faith in him. He’s also aware that we want to achieve big things here.

  That’s why, for us, it was almost a matter of time before he made a long-term commitment to the club. We’re very pleased about that, because ‘Klosti’ is an absolute role model here and is reliability personified. He’s got pace, strong in the tackle, tall and he uses his body well. He can play as both a centre-half and a full-back. We’re very happy that he’s staying here.

  Will he play tomorrow? He did well in the friendly at our training camp, is fit and in form. It’s not unlikely that he’ll play tomorrow.”
   

Marco Rose on…

…the starting goalkeeper spot

• “We’ve discussed the goalkeeper situation together, and decided that Janis Blaswich will start for us against Frankfurt. But, from now on, we have two number ones. There’s nothing to split Janis Blaswich and Peter Gulacsi from a sporting perspective.

  Pete has made a good impression this year, and did brilliantly in the training camp. Janis didn’t have any problems either, so there’s no reason to stop backing him.

  Both of them are aware that they’re currently neck-and-neck. The competition is stiff, but they’re taking it in their stride and there’s no unneccessary pressure. I’ll make it clear: we can’t be discussing who’s going start in goal in the next game after every single bad pass or small mistake.

  We’re in a fortunate position when it comes to our keepers, and both Janis and Pete are positive and professional about it. We feel blessed to have two players of such quality in this position.”