Which players are available this weekend? How does Marco view our upcoming opponent, Union Berlin?
This and plenty more from our head coach Marco Rose on Thursday’s press conference ahead of the match between RB Leipzig and Union Berlin.
The main focus is the match, not whether Rose will be allowed to be there or not.
Squad Update
- Willi Orban will have to miss one more match, after his two-match ban was confirmed by the DFB’s Federal Court ruling.
- Amadou Haidara will be available for the match, having recovered from a concussion.
- All details regarding our players’ availability can be found in our Squad-Update.
RBL vs. Union Berlin
Pre-Match Facts!
Good to know! Meet RB Leipzig’s new signing, Lutsharel Geertruida</span><span>
Marco Rose about…
…the opponent
- “From what we’ve experienced against Mainz, a Bo Svensson team is very well organized. You have to really earn every space and shot on goal. We have to keep an eye out for quick game transitions and set pieces. They play a brave brand of football. Union Berlin were well acquainted with a three-men defence, which is well drilled and adds stability.”
…their approach
- “There are teams with different virtues, but ever Bundesliga trainer develops an idea for their team that makes it hard to play for their opponents. We’ll be doing ourselves a favor if we’re giving it 120% this Saturday again. We need a good presence, we have to outplay every rival and try to ride the wave of what we’ve achieved in the past three games in a row.”
…his suspension against Union
- “The rules are clear, I’m suspended. I’m not allowed to speak to my team a half hour before and after the match. We’ll have enough time to prepare properly. I trust the players and my training staff. We also have analysts that can adjust or correct our plan in the half-time talk. The important things here is the match and not whether Rose will be allowed to be there or not.”
…Willi Orban’s suspension
- “We’ll take over the responsibility. As for the dressing room, things feel good. We have Arthur Vermeeren and Lutsharel Geertruida, two players that joined us late in the summer, but that already feel a home here. We also have in Pete Gulacsi, Kevin Kampl, David Raum, Benjamin Henrichs or even Yussuf Poulsen players that bring stability to the team.“
…El Chadaille Bitshiabu
- “He did a good job against Leverkusen. It wasn’t surprising. He’s great on the ball. We know what he’s capable of. Willi Orban‘s suspension is still in place and he was able to step in on his behalf last match. But we’re still defining how we’ll proceed with this game. Chad is an option, even if there a couple of things we noticed that need improving. He can be better at tackling, there’s also potential to improve with long balls.”
…Lutsharel Geertruida
- “Lutsharel is a strong center and wideback with a great understanding of the game. He can play in reduced spaces, he has a calm way of reacting when in possession. He was Feyenoord’s captain in spite of his young age. We’ve been giving him his first assignments in training. He’s curious, he asks questions.”
…Arthur Vermeeren
- “He’s a good football, he can come up with anything. He’s strong in play, has a basic aggressiveness when out of possession. He wants to play and have the ball. He wasn’t happy with the amount of minutes he was playing in Madrid. We’re trying to give him plenty of playing time. Of course, the players need to be patient: there’s plenty happening in his position. There’s plenty of competition in training for those minutes. That’s something we want to have.”
Antonio Nusa
- “He’ll eventually break through into the starting lineup, but other players have also been playing well lately. I’ll be needing every player available to us, since we have six matches in three weeks, followed by more international matches for several of then, and then another three weeks. We’ll be needing everybody, old and new.”
The Press Conference on Re-Live
RBL on YouTube