After this morning’s training session assistant manager Thomas Schneider and Leverkusen duo Lars Bender and Karim Bellarabi faced the media in Berlin ahead of the European Championship qualifier against Gibraltar in Nuremberg (Friday, 14th November, 20:45 CET).
THOMAS SCHNEIDER ON...
… the preparation: The players trained well today, as well as in yesterday’s session, and are 100% focussed on the game against Gibraltar. We want to put in a good performance and pick up the three points.
… Gibraltar: We are taking them seriously, like we would any team. They’ve lost both of their games so far but performed well in the first-half of all of the matches. We know that Gibraltar are an organised team when they are out of possession. It is important that the team go into the match with the right attitude and play to the standards they set over the summer.
… Jonas Hector: Jonas has settled in quickly. He has performed well and is doing what we saw him do for 1. FC Köln in recent weeks. He has made a good impression and has already integrated himself into the team. We chose him because he’s an intelligent defender.
LARS BENDER ON...
… missing out on the World Cup: I think that it’s logical and obvious that I was disappointed to pick up an injury so near to the World Cup. I’m delighted to be back in the squad and hope to return to the field sooner rather than later.
… the game against Gibraltar: You can’t underestimate anyone in international football. We need to concentrate thoughout the game and play with a high tempo. The manager has watched some of their games. Our aim is to take the lead as soon as possible. We are currently fully focussed on the Gibraltar game and only after the final whistle will we begin to think about Spain.
After this morning’s training session assistant manager Thomas Schneider and Leverkusen duo Lars Bender and Karim Bellarabi faced the media in Berlin ahead of the European Championship qualifier against Gibraltar in Nuremberg (Friday, 14th November, 20:45 CET).
THOMAS SCHNEIDER ON...
… the preparation: The players trained well today, as well as in yesterday’s session, and are 100% focussed on the game against Gibraltar. We want to put in a good performance and pick up the three points.
… Gibraltar: We are taking them seriously, like we would any team. They’ve lost both of their games so far but performed well in the first-half of all of the matches. We know that Gibraltar are an organised team when they are out of possession. It is important that the team go into the match with the right attitude and play to the standards they set over the summer.
… Jonas Hector: Jonas has settled in quickly. He has performed well and is doing what we saw him do for 1. FC Köln in recent weeks. He has made a good impression and has already integrated himself into the team. We chose him because he’s an intelligent defender.
LARS BENDER ON...
… missing out on the World Cup: I think that it’s logical and obvious that I was disappointed to pick up an injury so near to the World Cup. I’m delighted to be back in the squad and hope to return to the field sooner rather than later.
… the game against Gibraltar: You can’t underestimate anyone in international football. We need to concentrate thoughout the game and play with a high tempo. The manager has watched some of their games. Our aim is to take the lead as soon as possible. We are currently fully focussed on the Gibraltar game and only after the final whistle will we begin to think about Spain.
KARIM BELLARABI ON...
… the game against Gibraltar: Obviously we go into the game as favourites and want to justify this fact. We want to pick up three points in order to improve our position in the table. Nowadays you can’t underestimate anyone in football.
… Jonas Hector: We travelled together from Cologne. He was quite quiet, but pleasant. I think that he will feel at home pretty quickly, like I did.
… his position on the pitch: It doesn’t really matter to me where I play. The coach and myself both know that I can play on both sides of midfield. I can cut inside if I play on the left or stick more to the wings from the right. The manager will decide whther I play or not and in what position.
