Farke ahead of #RBLBMG: “We need to have a good day”

Daniel Farke and Roland Virkus faced the media ahead of the Foals’ away game against RB Leipzig on Saturday, (15:30 CET).

Daniel Farke on…

…team news: Jonas Omlin and Jan Olschowsky won’t be available, so Tobias Sippel will be in goal once again. We’re still missing Julian Weigl and Tony Jantschke with long-term injuries too. Chris Kramer had a muscular issue and sat out training today, as did Nico Elvedi after picking up a knock. With both of them, it’s just a precaution though. I expect that they will be about to take part in our final training session tomorrow and then be in the question for the game on Saturday.

…RB Leipzig: We know that we are travelling to play one of the heavyweights in the league. I don’t want to praise our opponent too much before the game, but Leipzig belong to the top ranks of the Bundesliga and are currently deservedly in the Champions League places. They are having a very solid season under Marco Rose, are very strong at home and have real quality in their ranks. It’s one of the toughest matches in the Bundesliga, but we will take on the challenge. If we do a lot of the things well again that we did in the first game against them, we will also have a good chance to take something away with us in Leipzig. We will definitely need to have a good day though if we want to get a result.

…Ramy Bensebaini’s suspension: Ramy Bensebaini should have kept his emotions more in check in the situation against Mainz which led to the sending-off, and reacted better. You have to be this self-critical – even if I wish that the referee had resolved the situation before this differently. But, these are absolutely not things that we can control. Ramy’s behaviour was suboptimal, which is why we have accepted the two-match ban. He will now be missing for the games in Leipzig and against Bremen. That’s the end of the issue as far as we’re concerned.”

…Luca Netz’s development: Luca Netz has improved throughout the season, especially in terms of his training performances and is really making his case in training. He’s still a young player and of course he will make mistakes, but he is still on a great path and is certainly an option to start the upcoming games as a replacement for Ramy.

…Marcus Thuram’s current state: Firstly, I would like to emphasise again that Tikus made a mistake against Freiburg because he went to ground too easily in the box. We don’t like to see that, but I still don’t agree with the flack he’s gotten since. Separate from this incident, Tikus put in his best performance of the year so far against Freiburg. He created good chances and used his physical presence well. We need his pace and his runs through the middle, because of that we can’t allow him to always come from wide. Nevertheless, he can be flexible during the game and also change position at times.

Sporting director Roland Virkus on…

…his expectations of the Borussia fans: For me, it is important that our fans transfer their energy onto the team on Saturday. Emotion belongs in football and you are allowed to make your opinion known, but for us as a club it is really important that it remains above the belt. We have also clearly shared this attitude with the fans ahead of the game.

…Ramy Bensebaini’s red card: Ramy made a big error, he knows that himself and was very self-critical of himself because he is also a good sportsman. But, it also about accepting that young players make mistakes. Marcus Thuram also has to ask himself if what he did was ok. We spoke with both players and that’s the end of the matter for us.

…a possible contract extension for Tobias Sippel: I was happy that Tobi Sippel put in a great performance against Freiburg. We’re confident in his abilities as a goalkeeper. Everything else is currently running in parallel in the background. We’re in talks with him about his future. When there is something to tell you, we will do so.

…seeing Max Eberl again: I am looking forward to seeing Max again on Saturday. We worked well together for 20 years and still have a good relationship like before. I have lots of good memories of him and am pleased that he is working again.