World Champion Jerome Boateng returned to action on Saturday following a three-month injury break. The centre-back started during FC Bayern München's 1-1 home draw with Borussia Mönchengladbach where the title decider was postponed for at least another week. But the 27-year-old was still in good spirits, having returned to the pitch and played 68 minutes before he was taken off. Boateng spoke with DFB.de about his return and performance against Gladbach and Bayern's chances in their semi-final return leg with Atletico in the Champions League on Tuesday in the Allianz Arena.
Question: Mr. Boateng, how do you feel after having made your comeback?
Jerome Boateng: Pretty good. I was obviously happy that I was able to return to the pitch. The result wasn't as good, but we didn't do enough to get more. We should've scored more goals in the first half and executed our counter attacks better. We gave away possession too often and Gladbach have a good team who can punish you for that. They know how to score goals.
Question: How did you see your own performance?
Boateng: Well, I had two or three poor passes but I didn't let that affect me. After that I think it went quite well. It's simply about getting back into the feeling of being on the pitch, seeing these passes and various situations. In a sense everything feels a bit new after three months on the sidelines.
Question: How disappointed are you that you weren't able to secure the title?
Boateng: It's disappointing for sure, but we have an extremely important game coming up on Tuesday, so we can't dwell on this 1-1 draw for too long. We have to put it behind us and we know that we can secure the title next weekend on Saturday (away to FC Ingolstadt). Now all that counts is Tuesday and Atletico.
Question: Are you fully fit to play on Tuesday?
World Champion Jerome Boateng returned to action on Saturday following a three-month injury break. The centre-back started during FC Bayern München's 1-1 home draw with Borussia Mönchengladbach where the title decider was postponed for at least another week. But the 27-year-old was still in good spirits, having returned to the pitch and played 68 minutes before he was taken off. Boateng spoke with DFB.de about his return and performance against Gladbach and Bayern's chances in their semi-final return leg with Atletico in the Champions League on Tuesday in the Allianz Arena.
Question: Mr. Boateng, how do you feel after having made your comeback?
Jerome Boateng: Pretty good. I was obviously happy that I was able to return to the pitch. The result wasn't as good, but we didn't do enough to get more. We should've scored more goals in the first half and executed our counter attacks better. We gave away possession too often and Gladbach have a good team who can punish you for that. They know how to score goals.
Question: How did you see your own performance?
Boateng: Well, I had two or three poor passes but I didn't let that affect me. After that I think it went quite well. It's simply about getting back into the feeling of being on the pitch, seeing these passes and various situations. In a sense everything feels a bit new after three months on the sidelines.
Question: How disappointed are you that you weren't able to secure the title?
Boateng: It's disappointing for sure, but we have an extremely important game coming up on Tuesday, so we can't dwell on this 1-1 draw for too long. We have to put it behind us and we know that we can secure the title next weekend on Saturday (away to FC Ingolstadt). Now all that counts is Tuesday and Atletico.
Question: Are you fully fit to play on Tuesday?
Boateng: Definitely. It will be a different tempo on the pitch compared to today, but I will try to regenerate as well as possible and gather energy for the game. We want to give it our best against Atletico. I will do whatever I can to help and if the coach wants me to play, then I will be ready for the full 90 minutes.
Question: How do you see Bayern's chances of reaching the final?
Boateng: Very good. We are playing at home and we play a different type of football here. Our pitch is great and obviously we want to create pressure right from the start. Atletico have a very clever team, so we can't blindly rush into our attacks. We wanted to be focused and forceful.
Question: Are you looking forward to Germany team mate Mats Hummels, who could play by your side at FC Bayern next season?
Boateng: As long as that's just a speculation, I won't comment on it. He is a Borussia Dortmund player and we still play against Dortmund in the Cup final (on May 21st in Berlin). We all know that Mats is a great defender.
