“End with a good home game”

Our place in the league is secured, the miracle became a reality. It is still hard to believe what VfL have achieved this season. This Friday night (kick-off at 20.30 CET), VfL Bochum 1848 welcome Arminia Bielefeld at the Vonovia Ruhrstadion. For the team from East Westphalia, there is still a lot at stake as they are currently 17^th in the table. In the run-up to the last home match of the season, head coach Thomas Reis answered the journalists’ question at the press conference.

Thomas Reis on…

… the personnel situation: Konstantinos Stafylidis is still suspended, Patrick Osterhage has a cold and consequently won’t be fit to play. Apart from that, all players a on board.

… team tactics for match against Arminia Bielefeld: We have an important game ahead of us. Everyone expects a proper performance from us in our last home match. Even though some players will be given a proper send-off tomorrow evening – some perhaps for the time being – we have to stay focused. I’m not worried about a drop in tension. We achieved something great last week, had an outstanding season. It’s obvious that we want to say goodbye to our fans with a good home game.

… the preparation for Arminia Bielefeld: We focused pour analysis on Bielefeld’s last two matches, as they have a new manager since then. It’s absolutely important that we go into the game with a clear head. I expect an absolute peak performance, it will be a brutally difficult game.

… Arminia Bielefeld: I expect Bielefeld to have a similar game plan as Augsburg when they played here two weeks ago. They waited for us to make mistakes. Besides us, Bielefeld play the most long balls of all teams in the league. They have a strong goalkeeper in Stefan Ortega, who can initiate attacks well. Similar to Manu with us. We have to be wide awake to finish the home game with three points.

… a potential comeback of Danilo Soares: Danilo took part in all the training sessions, is pain-free and very agile. We’ll make the decision tomorrow if he is ready to start right from the beginning. But there would be nothing against it.

… a potential line-up of Robert Tesche: Robert is an absolute leader. Everyone knows that he played an important part in our promotion to the Bundesliga. He is a well-deserved player and absolutely earned a call-up tomorrow. I assume that he will get some playing time. We’ll see for how long.

… Elvis Rexhbecaj: Elvis is an ultimate mentality player. When he plays for a club, he gives the shirt off his back. But he also has a lot of potential for development, especially in terms of his goal rate.

… the next season: Generally, playing in the Bundesliga for the second year will be very, very difficult. We then won’t be seen as newly promoted team but at the same time, we’ll still have one of the lowest budgets in the league. But that’s also what makes this project even more exciting. We could see this campaign what can happen when you are riding a wave of euphoria and our fans push us forward.

… new signing Philipp Hofmann: It’s a huge chance for Philipp. He can take the next step in his development in the Bundesliga. If we sign someone, we are absolutely convinced of him. I’m happy that we were able to convince such a player for VfL.