Tony Jantschke has already reached the DFB Cup final once in his career, even if it was “only” with the Borussia U19s. The defender unfortunately lost that game, but is still enthusiastic about the tournament: "For us young players, it was great to experience it all – even if the result was unfortunately somewhat less than perfect.”
In an interview with DFB.de, the 26 year old speaks about his 10 years with Borussia, the differences between the youth teams then and now, rotation, and of course, his team’s second round tie with second division side VfB Stuttgart.
DFB.de: Tony Jantschke, you’ve been at Gladbach for ten years now, are you going to celebrate?
Tony Jantschke: No, I’m not, but it’s obviously a lovely achievement. I came here at 16 and at that time I was also playing with the youth national side, but I of course wasn’t known. You don’t think ahead too much but when you do reflect on the fact that I’ve played over 200 games in that time, it’s not half bad.
DFB.de: Why is it so rare these days that players stay at a club for their whole career?
Jantschke: There are many reasons for it. Money players a role and also the general internationalisation of football. There’s also the influence of agents who also earn money from the transfers. Some players have also become less patient – if they don’t play for five games, they go somewhere else, their motto is: “I’m moving clubs before I waste a year here.” With me, my mentality was always to stick at it and work hard. I don’t want to say whether this change is good or bad.
DFB.de: Have you ever thought about leaving the club?
Jantschke: As a person you always think about what kind of things you can change in your life, or what opportunities you can seize. But it never got so serious that I went to Max Erberl and said that I wanted to leave.
DFB.de: How would you describe these ten years?
Jantschke: I've experienced a lot in this time, many ups and downs, good but also bad times. This time has been spent with many people like Patrick Herrmann, Max Eberl, Steffen Korell, Hans Meyer and Rainer Bonhof. I’ve also had the chance to play with many great players, such as Marc-André ter Stegen, Marco Reus, Roman Neustädter and Dante to name just a few. There’s also been some sad times when players have retired, with whom you’ve experienced a lot, like Martin Stranzl, Roel Brouwers oder Filip Daems.
DFB.de: How are the youth players today different in comparison to your time?
Jantschke: They are clearly more confident. They make it to the first team at 18 and think they have to play. The quality of the players is also higher thanks to all the youth academies. Before, you would have said to Andreas Christensen or Nico Elvedi, “you need three years before you're ready.” Now, you can play them right away, the difference between them and the more experienced players isn’t as big. The hierarchy in the squad has also changed, you have to say to the lads three times that they have to collect in the balls before they do it – everything has become more relaxed. I’m happy that I came through the ranks when I did, when discipline and order was still important. You couldn’t mess around as much, if you forgot the bibs, you had to go back and get them and do three laps of the pitch. But that shaped me and I took a lot from it, above all, how important it is to have discipline.
DFB.de: You are one of the leaders at Borussia, do you miss the captain’s armband.
Jantschke: No, not really. Before, there were certain advantages of being captain, for example, being able to talk to the referee, but this isn’t the case anymore. Now, responsibilities in the team are bared on many shoulders and I believe that what I say carries weight in the changing room.
DFB.de: Borussia have a large squad this year, is rotation a problem for players?
Jantschke: The attitude to rotation has changed now. The players recognise that you can’t play at the highest level every three days so at certain times, you just need a break and sometimes this is “forced” upon you by the coach. Of course, no player likes to sit out and you think that you can always perform at 100 percent and always have to play, but at this level that isn’t possible anymore. So when you have a big squad, you should take advantage of it.
DFB.de: How important is the DFB Cup for you?
Jantschke: It’s the quickest way to qualify for Europe and it’s a title. Winning a trophy is just awesome and it’s a relatively short path to it. Six games and you can experience lilting the trophy in the air.
DFB.de: In the first round, you had a close encounter with Regionalliga side SV Drochtersen/Assel (1-0), why is it so often hard for the favourites in these competitions?
Jantschke: In this case, the opposition were very defensive and only attacked twice in the whole game. Also, the whole stadium is there behind their team, the players start to believe in themselves more and the playing surface wasn't particularly good. Therefore, it was hard for us to move the ball quickly. That’s what makes the first round hard for the favourites but for the spectators it’s perfect as the fans love it when there’s an upset.
DFB.de: You reached the final with the Borussia U19s, how was that as a young player?
Jantschke: It was super, it was really fun. On the Friday we played and on the Saturday we watched the first team. It was great for us young players to experience that, even if the result was somewhat less than perfect (3-0 loss to Leverkusen).
DFB.de: Was that your best experience in the cup so far?
Jantschke: The semi-final in March 2012 against Bayern, which we lost (4-2 on penalties), that was also a nice game for me. Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery were in top form, like the rest of Bayern. We were coming off the back of a season when we were almost relegated and had beat Bayern home and away, then we had the semi-final at Borussia-Park with the fans behind us. It was a great experience, a real highlight game. But of course, when you're so close to Berlin and go out like that, it’s bitter.
DFB.de: You’ll play second division side VfB Stuttgart in the second round, how much of a challenge is this one?
Jantschke: At the very least we have a home game which we haven’t had too often. VfB have a new coach and are one of the favourites to be promoted, therefore it’s no easy task. But if you want to go far in the cup of course you have to win this game, otherwise there’s no point of being in the tournament.
[mmc/ms]
Tony Jantschke has already reached the DFB Cup final once in his career, even if it was “only” with the Borussia U19s. The defender unfortunately lost that game, but is still enthusiastic about the tournament: "For us young players, it was great to experience it all – even if the result was unfortunately somewhat less than perfect.”
In an interview with DFB.de, the 26 year old speaks about his 10 years with Borussia, the differences between the youth teams then and now, rotation, and of course, his team’s second round tie with second division side VfB Stuttgart.
DFB.de: Tony Jantschke, you’ve been at Gladbach for ten years now, are you going to celebrate?
Tony Jantschke: No, I’m not, but it’s obviously a lovely achievement. I came here at 16 and at that time I was also playing with the youth national side, but I of course wasn’t known. You don’t think ahead too much but when you do reflect on the fact that I’ve played over 200 games in that time, it’s not half bad.
DFB.de: Why is it so rare these days that players stay at a club for their whole career?
Jantschke: There are many reasons for it. Money players a role and also the general internationalisation of football. There’s also the influence of agents who also earn money from the transfers. Some players have also become less patient – if they don’t play for five games, they go somewhere else, their motto is: “I’m moving clubs before I waste a year here.” With me, my mentality was always to stick at it and work hard. I don’t want to say whether this change is good or bad.
DFB.de: Have you ever thought about leaving the club?
Jantschke: As a person you always think about what kind of things you can change in your life, or what opportunities you can seize. But it never got so serious that I went to Max Erberl and said that I wanted to leave.
DFB.de: How would you describe these ten years?
Jantschke: I've experienced a lot in this time, many ups and downs, good but also bad times. This time has been spent with many people like Patrick Herrmann, Max Eberl, Steffen Korell, Hans Meyer and Rainer Bonhof. I’ve also had the chance to play with many great players, such as Marc-André ter Stegen, Marco Reus, Roman Neustädter and Dante to name just a few. There’s also been some sad times when players have retired, with whom you’ve experienced a lot, like Martin Stranzl, Roel Brouwers oder Filip Daems.
DFB.de: How are the youth players today different in comparison to your time?
Jantschke: They are clearly more confident. They make it to the first team at 18 and think they have to play. The quality of the players is also higher thanks to all the youth academies. Before, you would have said to Andreas Christensen or Nico Elvedi, “you need three years before you're ready.” Now, you can play them right away, the difference between them and the more experienced players isn’t as big. The hierarchy in the squad has also changed, you have to say to the lads three times that they have to collect in the balls before they do it – everything has become more relaxed. I’m happy that I came through the ranks when I did, when discipline and order was still important. You couldn’t mess around as much, if you forgot the bibs, you had to go back and get them and do three laps of the pitch. But that shaped me and I took a lot from it, above all, how important it is to have discipline.
DFB.de: You are one of the leaders at Borussia, do you miss the captain’s armband.
Jantschke: No, not really. Before, there were certain advantages of being captain, for example, being able to talk to the referee, but this isn’t the case anymore. Now, responsibilities in the team are bared on many shoulders and I believe that what I say carries weight in the changing room.
DFB.de: Borussia have a large squad this year, is rotation a problem for players?
Jantschke: The attitude to rotation has changed now. The players recognise that you can’t play at the highest level every three days so at certain times, you just need a break and sometimes this is “forced” upon you by the coach. Of course, no player likes to sit out and you think that you can always perform at 100 percent and always have to play, but at this level that isn’t possible anymore. So when you have a big squad, you should take advantage of it.
DFB.de: How important is the DFB Cup for you?
Jantschke: It’s the quickest way to qualify for Europe and it’s a title. Winning a trophy is just awesome and it’s a relatively short path to it. Six games and you can experience lilting the trophy in the air.
DFB.de: In the first round, you had a close encounter with Regionalliga side SV Drochtersen/Assel (1-0), why is it so often hard for the favourites in these competitions?
Jantschke: In this case, the opposition were very defensive and only attacked twice in the whole game. Also, the whole stadium is there behind their team, the players start to believe in themselves more and the playing surface wasn't particularly good. Therefore, it was hard for us to move the ball quickly. That’s what makes the first round hard for the favourites but for the spectators it’s perfect as the fans love it when there’s an upset.
DFB.de: You reached the final with the Borussia U19s, how was that as a young player?
Jantschke: It was super, it was really fun. On the Friday we played and on the Saturday we watched the first team. It was great for us young players to experience that, even if the result was somewhat less than perfect (3-0 loss to Leverkusen).
DFB.de: Was that your best experience in the cup so far?
Jantschke: The semi-final in March 2012 against Bayern, which we lost (4-2 on penalties), that was also a nice game for me. Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery were in top form, like the rest of Bayern. We were coming off the back of a season when we were almost relegated and had beat Bayern home and away, then we had the semi-final at Borussia-Park with the fans behind us. It was a great experience, a real highlight game. But of course, when you're so close to Berlin and go out like that, it’s bitter.
DFB.de: You’ll play second division side VfB Stuttgart in the second round, how much of a challenge is this one?
Jantschke: At the very least we have a home game which we haven’t had too often. VfB have a new coach and are one of the favourites to be promoted, therefore it’s no easy task. But if you want to go far in the cup of course you have to win this game, otherwise there’s no point of being in the tournament.
