“Harmony at the moment”

We’re back in action again, just three days after the 1-1draw against our local rivals Borussia Dortmund, it’s already time for the next Bundesliga match. On Tuesday night, VfL Bochum 1848 are guests at the Schüco Arena, the home of DSC Arminia Bielefeld. Kick-off is at 20:30 CET. Before the clash with the Westphalian rivals, head coach Thomas Reis answered the journalists’ questions.

Thomas Reis on…

… the personnel situation: Simon Zoller, Danny Blum, Eduard Löwen, Takuma Asano, Saulo Decarli and Tom Weilandt are still not fit to play.

… looking back on the Ruhrpott derby: the match against Dortmund was very intense. We had to fight a lot of duels, especially at the back. We have one or two players who might need a rest.

… the squad for the away game: We had a recovery training session the day after the match against Borussia Dortmund. None of the players who played in the match suffered any injuries. So, we will probably travel to Bielefeld with the identical squad.

… the thrill of the Westphalian duel: It’s a Westphalian duel. Bochum against Bielefeld is always special. It could well be the case that one or the other tackle will be a bit tougher. I like games like that- We also need these duels to develop further.

… DSC Arminia Bielefeld: We still know exactly what our last performances in Bielefeld were like. It will be very, very difficult because Bielefeld are under massive pressure already. The style of play is simple, but still very effective. We need to be focused to be able to gain points against them and keep Arminia at a distance.

… the alternatives at the back: I’m very happy to have so many good centre-backs in the squad. Maxim Leitsch’s speed was very important in the game against Dortmund. We have to see if three games in one week make sense after his long injury break. Vasilios Lampropoulos certainly is an option for Tuesday. His physical strength could be useful against a striker like Fabian Klos.

… the current atmosphere: At the moment, we’re already having some success. Against Dortmund, we defended tooth and nail and earned a point. Everyone is absolutely eager to continue our good first half of the season and finish it well or even a little better. The team is harmonizing at the moment. No matter who plays in the coming games – every single player will give everything to end the year 2021 very well.

… the strategy for the last games of the first half of the season: We want to gain as many points as possible. It would be important to end the game against Bielefeld in our favour, to widen the gap to the bottom teams. We know that there will be phases in the course of the season, where thing don’t go so well. The gap would also give us self-confidence.