Matarazzo: “We simply want more”

Pellegrino Matarazzo on…

…the game at FC Bayern Munich: “We’ll head to Munich with a healthy portion of respect, they’re a top team internationally. We’ll need a very good performance. If we can manage that for 90 minutes, we of course have a chance; we’ve already proven that in the past. We’ll go there with that in mind.”

…the forecast temperature of -11°C on Friday evening: “It’s too cold to watch on from the sidelines. (laughs) I’m no scientist when it comes to what temperature it starts to become unhealthy. You definitely need more time to warm up, but we’ll adapt to that.”

…Harry Kane: “I’ll stick his shoes in the fridge; then he might have some problems. (laughs) He’s a world-class striker and the captain of the England national team. He moves very cleverly and is a great finisher. He doesn’t stay static, so we need to have a good day as a group.”

…the short winter preparations: “The break has done everyone good. I noticed the lads hadn’t completely gotten over the matches before Christmas. We wanted to channel this dissatisfaction in the right way. Our focus was on defending so that we concede fewer goals in the second half of the season.”

…the objective: “We simply want more. If you come up four points short in the key period before Christmas, that will linger. If you play to your limit, you’ll be satisfied. But we came up a few points short. We simply want to win matches like the one against Darmstadt. We also want to keep a clean sheet more often; there has been only one game without conceding a goal so far, which is not enough.”

…the death of Franz Beckenbauer: “It’s the first match in Munich after his death. It will be an emotional moment in the stadium. Franz Beckenbauer was a great personality. I also watched him as a child when he played for Cosmos in New York. His death was a sad moment for the entire world.”

…Attila Szalai: “Everyone needs to deliver if we want to achieve our objectives. Atilla brings strengths to the table, he brings a positive energy to the team. But he still also has elements he can improve. But that’s the case for every player. I expect every player to want achieve his maximum potential.”

The personnel situation:

Long-term injury absentees Marco John and Mergim Berisha will be joined on the sidelines by Dennis Geiger and Bambasé Conte, who have still only been able to complete parts of team training. Diadie Samassékou is with the Mali national team at the Africa Cup of Nations.

The opposition’s form:

FC Bayern won three competitive matches on the bounce before the winter break. In their only friendly in the short preparation period for the rest of the season, Thomas Tuchel’s team drew 1-1 with FC Basel.

Head-to-head record:

The record is clearly in FC Bayern’s favour. The record champions have won 19 of the previous 30 Bundesliga meetings, with TSG victorious on only four occasions. Bayern have scored 70 goals in those matches, while TSG have managed just 28.