Matarazzo: “We have to perform as a unit”

Pellegrino Matarazzo on…

…the match on Saturday: “Every match in this league is a challenge. Kiel were comfortably promoted. The team does not have much to lose and will perform as a unit. Our ambition is to win the match. To do that, we will need to go forward and also perform as a unit. If we implement our match plan, we will be successful.”

…Marcel Rapp: “I know Marcel from the academy. He was the U19 coach when I was U17 coach. We always used to have meetings together until I was moved up. That means I know him well, of course. Over the course of the last three years, he has developed superbly as a head coach and plays fast-paced football. His team tries to find footballing solutions and sometimes takes risks. At the same time, he has a good feel for pressing in defence.”

…the excitement for the opening game: “It is definitely always something special. Of course, we could do with a few more weeks of pre-season so that the squad is complete and well-rehearsed. But we’re looking forward to Saturday and are also happy that pre-season is behind us.”

…vacancies in the squad: “The Bundesliga is starting and one or two positions are not yet filled. That is of course not optimal. As a coach, you try to exude clarity, calmness and confidence – to the team and the general public. That has been demanding in several situations, but I’m trying to stay as focused as possible. It is my responsibility as a coach to give the team the best-possible chance to have a successful season.”

… the fans: “I can only say how important the fans are for football, the Bundesliga and for us. I wouldn’t want to miss out on moments like the 4-2 win over Bayern in the last home game. It’d be beneficial if the problems could be resolved so that we can experience the fans at the stadium in full force again. The lads deserve that. Our focus is on the performance on the pitch, I can’t influence more than that.”

…the week of training: “We looked at ourselves at the beginning of the week and worked on our compactness. We also focused on our forward momentum. In the second part of the week, it is then more about the match plan and the opponent enters the fray. We looked for solutions.”

…Adam Hložek: “He’s a very good guy. He had no problems integrating into the team. Of course it’ll take time to settle into our processes but he has great dynamism and a super finish. It’s fun. He gets on the ball and hasn’t tried to get in behind so often so far. We want to incorporate him into our strengths.

…Mergim Berisha: “He played for longer than was actually planned against Würzburg. They were a deep-lying opponent, there’s another dimension in the Bundesliga. If he can play for 60 minutes, he is a candidate for the starting XI. But I’ll only allow a player to start if he can play for at least one hour.”

The personnel situation:

In addition to the quartet of Ihlas Bebou, Finn Becker, Ozan Kabak and David Jurásek, Tom Bischof also remains sidelined. Umut Tohumcu and Marco John are back in training.

The opposition’s form:

Like TSG, Holstein Kiel also struggled in the first round of the DFB-Pokal. Coach Marcel Rapp’s team won 3-2 away to third-division promoted outfit Alemannia Aachen in stoppage time thanks to a goal from Lasse Rosenboom.