FC St. Pauli

…the personnel situation: “Elias Saad got his foot a bit caught in the turf in training the other day, but trained fully again with the squad today. He’s fully available. Connor Metcalfe has been easing his way back. We’ll need to see how it looks tomorrow with putting pressure on it and whether he’s already an option. Robert Wagner has now been added to the list with tonsillitis, so he’s a question mark. In Morgan Guilavogui’s case, we need to see from day to day how he’s doing. It’s always a bit different when you add ball and opponents into the equation, due to the pace alone.” 

...looking forward to facing Champions League participants Leipzig:  “Leipzig have great quality in their team. We like to see every game as a highlight. After two away games, we’re just pleased to be at home again, hoping for great support from our fans and that we can pick up our first points. We know it’s not going to be easy, but it’s not impossible either. We know all about Leipzig’s forcefulness with their speed. We’ve talked about it, and I’m confident that we’ll also be able to implement what we’ve discussed.” 

...what FC St. Pauli can learn from Atletico Madrid: “Brutal intensity. They put pretty much 100 percent into every duel for 90 minutes. That’s exactly what you need against such a team. Physicality, presence and aggression. Atletico put in all of that. That really impressed me. Great pace down the wings and good receivers in the centre. Playing that way, they repeatedly got behind the full-backs and created danger. Those were good movements where you could also see how it’s possible to hurt Leipzig.” 

...less pressure against strong opponents: “Nobody expects us to get anything against Leipzig. The pressure’s off a bit. But we have to deal with that the right way. The basics of how we want to play are simply a part of that. Last year, 80 percent was maybe enough at times, but this year, we’ve got to get close to 100 percent without fail, otherwise we’ve no chance. We can be still more aggressive and play with more intensity, and that will also do our game good.” 

...the pace of the Leipzig attack:  “We’ve got to be extremely alert at all times and naturally want to keep it as tight as possible. You can’t always solve things one-on-one, but only as a group. It’s certainly going to be a challenge, how we take on the situation and defend from the front or drop back.”

...his first game under lights at the Millerntor: “As a player I always really enjoyed evening matches. The atmosphere under lights is definitely really special. I was always highly motivated, and I think I’m not that unlike our players. It spurs you on even more, experiencing the Millerntor with such an atmosphere.”

Photos: Witters