After the public training session, Niklas Süle took part in a media scrum to answer the questions posed by the assembled journalists. The centre-back talked about the last two games of the season, the BVB fans and his holiday.

Niklas Süle on the pressure of the current situation:
“It is a positive pressure when you are trying to win a German championship and have worked towards that throughout the year. We are in good spirits and are working hard to win the title. We want a crowning glory for the season. We have difficult games ahead of us in Augsburg and against Mainz. Nevertheless, we are expecting to do everything we can in both games to become German champions.”

… the possibility of a league title:
“One reason why I came to Borussia Dortmund was that I wanted to experience what I am feeling now. The sense of anticipation of achieving success here is incredible. It has been a very turbulent season. We have worked to get ourselves into this situation. Although we have had games where we have left some points on the table, we are still able to win the championship with two matches to go before the end of the season. That’s very positive pressure. That brings the best out of you.”

… the disadvantage of having ground to make up:
“I wouldn’t say it’s a disadvantage. We could have got our noses in front in Bochum, but we didn’t manage to take three points back to Dortmund. I am not concerned with who is ahead or who is behind. On the last day of the season, we will be playing at the same time. Now we need to focus on Sunday. It will be an important and difficult game in Augsburg.” 

… changes the team are making at the moment: 
“It would be wrong to train anything specifically or do something different. We have been the best team since the World Cup. We had an incredible run, worked hard and put in a lot of work to put ourselves into this position. Why would we do something different now? For five, six or seven weeks, every game has already felt like a cup final. Whoever keeps their nerve better will deserve to win the title after 34 games.”

… the public training session:
“It’s no secret that Borussia Dortmund thrive off the emotion, off the people who live for this club, who pushed us incredibly during the game against Frankfurt when we started to make up ground. If you look at what’s going on week-in, week-out in our stadium … Every fan in this city wants it so much, and they get into the games just as much as we do. They are probably a little more nervous, as we can actually influence the result. The excitement around the club and the anticipation of what we can achieve are enormous. That also has an effect on our team.”

… his transfer to BVB:
“I came here to achieve success. We are only in one competition now. We had two games – against Chelsea and Leipzig – in which we did not deserve to progress in the other two competitions. I haven’t won anything with Dortmund yet. Everyone want to achieve as much as possible here. I am very happy to be here because it is a great club and I feel very comfortable here, but we play football for success, and we are still fighting for it. I am pleased at the way we came back so well after where we were going into the winter break. That also shows how strong we are as a team.”

… his holiday:
“I haven’t planned anything from the 28th in the hope that something big will be happening for us. From what I have heard, people like to celebrate properly here. If I can experience that, I would be delighted – and I would be the first one leading the celebrations.”
Transcribed by Christina Reinke