“I’m ready for the game to kick off now!”

Head coach Sandro Schwarz has been in Berlin since the summer, but can now look forward to a momentous first as his side prepares to welcome FC Bayern München to the Olympiastadion on Saturday (05/11/22, 15:30 CET) – a full house! A total of 74,667 tickets have been sold for the match. “The atmosphere at our previous home games was already incredible. We saw the impact the support from the Ostkurve can have on the players when Willy [Kanga] scored the winner against Schalke. The more I talk about it, the more excited I get,” Schwarz said during the pre-match press conference. His side will face a tough challenge in the form of the reigning champions. “We know how good they are. It will be important for us to keep our shape and have the right mentality in order to deliver a strong defensive performance, while also being aggressive and clinical,” he added. Read on for a summary of all the key quotes from today’s press conference.

Sandro Schwarz on…

…FC Bayern:

Sandro Schwarz: We know how good they are, we’ve all seen their recent results. It will be important for us to keep our shape and have the right mentality in order to deliver a strong defensive performance, while also being aggressive and clinical. We need to defend as a team and not allow Bayern too many one-v-one situations. There are a lot of factors that could make the difference for us: the flow of the game, a bit of luck, a really good goalkeeping performance. We’re looking forward to this challenge!

…his record against the Bavarians:

Sandro Schwarz: I don’t really concern myself with it, and that’s not what the focus is on ahead of the game. As far as I know, Vedo [Ibišević] has won once at home against Bayern and even scored a goal. That’s a good omen. Having Vedo on our staff means that we will also be able to draw on his experience.

…being the underdogs and his team’s mentality:

Sandro Schwarz: I could make things easy for myself and say that FC Bayern are the clear favourites. We have a lot of respect for our opponent, but I’m also not a fan of taking up this underdog role. We know that Bayern will pose a challenge. Together with our fans, we will try to create an atmosphere that will permit us turn the game in our favour. The mentality, strength of will and readiness to play of my team are all incredible. What defines us that we never give up, which will be important on Saturday. The team will need to give it everything when the first whistle goes at 15:30 CET and get stuck in to every challenge.

…playing in front of a sold-out crowd at the Olympiastadion:

Sandro Schwarz: It can have a massive impact on the team. The atmosphere at our previous home games was already incredible, even if they weren’t sold out. Being the coach of the home side, you really experience it even more. I think it’s fantastic that so many people will be there. We feel the support of the fans every day, and it’s even more intense on matchday. It really generates an energy that we can feed off. People can feel that we are really invested in it. However, we are also aware of the fact that we only have 11 points. We are still convinced that we are on the right path. We will continue to grow as a team and that will bring success with it. Right now, we’re just looking forward to playing in front of this special crowd. We saw the impact the support from the Ostkurve can have on the players when Willy [Kanga] scored the winner against Schalke. That motivates us to always give it everything. The more I talk about it, the more excited I get – I’m ready for the game to kick off now!