“This team knows how to win titles!” – Marco Rose ahead of the DFB-Pokal final

Marco, a long season is drawing to a close; now just the final awaits. How are you feeling at the moment? 

It’s a mixture of anticipation and a healthy tension. We have achieved our aim for the season of securing Champions League football.

We were in the Champions League round of 16 and now we have the chance to win a title. We are looking forward to it.

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We did really well in the Champions League this season, making it to the last 16 after a difficult start. Now comes the highlight, the DFB-Pokal final, and we can’t wait!

How do you deal with such an important game off the pitch?

You’d be stupid not to look forward to a game like this. It’s a special experience, but you still want to win the game at all costs. That also means there’s a good tension. From my point of view, it’s important not to try new things ahead of a final like this, but rely on your strengths and be convinced that you can win the game.

I trust this team; they know how to win the title. And that’s why I’m actually quite calm.
 

So is the process different going into this than ahead of normal games?

No, that’s exactly the point. As I said, we don’t have to try and invent new things. 

In the past few weeks, we were able to celebrate incredibly important victories against Freiburg and Bayern, among others. Is this the perfect momentum going into the final?

Sure, it should help us. It’s never a guarantee, of course, but positive feelings can always benefit you. It showed strength to beat Freiburg twice away from home in one week and also do our job afterwards, in games full of emotion like the tight encounter with Bremen.

I think we should take this level of emotion with us to Berlin. It’s important for us to then crown the season together with our fans and our staff.
 

Apart from André Silva and Péter Gulácsi, all the players are fit and there is incredible quality in the squad. Is that a blessing or a curse for you as a coach when deciding who will ultimately start?

Definitely a blessing. We’ll have a top team out there on the pitch with guys who are on fire. Of course, it’s always good for a coach to have a lot of players at his disposal and to have to make a decision, even if it’s not always easy. 

It’s the first DFB-Pokal final for you, but you have a lot of experience in finals within the team, because there are some guys who have played in all the finals of the past years. Do you draw on this experience?

I’m open to anything and I told the boys, “you know how to win the cup!” That’s why we’ve approached this week positively and calmly. On the other hand, we are facing Eintracht Frankfurt, an opposition that also won a final in Europe last year.

So these players certainly have enough experience in finals. Now it’s simply a matter of leaving everything out there on the pitch for the last time this season and trying to win this final.
 

How special is it to have so many players in the squad who have been with RB Leipzig for so long now in the cup final for us for the fourth time?

It helps us. It also shows that the club has been on the right path up to this point. During the season, there was some discussion about the age of the squad, but we are all very happy with the boys we have here for the final. 

What do you make of the current mood in the squad?

It’s very positive. We don’t change our process, but trust in what we have been doing all season.

The mood has been exceptionally good. We should take that with us and still stay focused. I think everyone knows what we need to do this week to be ready on Saturday.
 

What kind of opponent are you expecting in Eintracht Frankfurt?

Frankfurt are a team that is well organized, plays good football and has some great players in its ranks. We don’t have to talk about the quality of Kolo Muani, Lindström and Götze in attack. In Rode, they also have a captain who leads the team and they have experience with players like Hasebe. So there is a very good mix at Eintracht.

It will be about turning the game to our side and keeping the focus on ourselves. We should be convinced of what we are doing and then implement each detail well, because we will need to bring everything we have against a side like Frankfurt.

After winning the cup in 2022, you could feel how the city and the fans here wanted a big title. Does it make it even more special for you to be in a final for your hometown Leipzig? 

We are all in this final together. The fact is that it is my city, I was born here and I love Leipzig. Of course, that also includes the region of central and eastern Germany, which is my home. To now have the opportunity to bring the title to Leipzig for the second time in a row is special; of course we’d like to give that to our fans again. 

What makes our fans stand out for you? You’ve been able to see their support for just under a season now.

What has developed here over the years is quite extraordinary. It’s a bit different than elsewhere, but there is a high level of emotion. You can feel how much people are rooting for us, how much they want us to succeed and how much they identify with the club.

Despite ambitious goals, we are allowed to remain humble and laugh at ourselves from time to time. We’ve become a real name in German football, not only on the pitch but also off it. When you see how many fans travel with us to Champions League matches abroad or how many were there in Munich, it shows that something is growing here.

Let’s take another look at our journey to the final. We have already had to overcome one or two obstacles this season…

…and we still have a challenge ahead of us. We deserve to be in this final, we’ve played very well in the cup and have always been up to the task in the knockout games. Now we’re looking forward to it, we’re going to Berlin on Friday and we want to bring the cup to Leipzig using everything we’ve got.
 

What does your personal preparation for the final look like? Is there anything you do to get ready for such an important game?

I definitely have to mow the lawn at home again (laughs). Apart from that, it’s the same as I mentioned earlier: to do things as normally as possible. I’ll be able to sleep well despite the upcoming final.
 

Will your family be there to support you?

My family will be there, yes. That will also give us strength for this last game of the season.