"Important that we send the right signals"
With memories of last weekend’s 4-1 home win against Borussia Mönchengladbach still fresh in their minds, our Herthaner head to face the ‘other’ Borussia in Dortmund on Sunday (19/02/23, 17:30 CET). “The win was good for us, and the atmosphere was great. However, ever since our preparations began on Wednesday, we have been fully focused on the task that lies ahead of us,” head coach Sandro Schwarz said during today’s pre-match press conference. Ahead of Sunday’s trip to the league’s third-placed side, the coach spoke about his formation, the approach and working on set pieces to the journalists at the Olympiastadion. Herthabsc.de have summed up all the key quotes from today. Hear from the 44-year-old about…
... playing with a back-three:
Sandro Schwarz: Our back-three did well against Borussia Mönchengladbach, so logically it’s also an option for Dortmund on Sunday. The boys felt comfortable in this system, which was also reflected by the result. We need to continue to have confidence in our formation. We need to play with intensity but also with the knowledge that Dortmund will have the ball at times, during which we then have to defend and keep our shape. We also need to be active in working against the ball.
... the approach vs. BVB:
Sandro Schwarz: It’s important that we send the right signals by repeating some of the same things that helped us beat Borussia Mönchengladbach. We ran over 120 kilometres, completed 230 sprints and several intensive runs. Those are exactly the kind of things we will need to do against Dortmund as well. It was a close game earlier this season, and we were close to turning the game on several occasions. We want to show that same spirit on Sunday. Intensity, energy and physicality will form the base of our performance, while we will also look to pose a threat in front of goal with lots of crosses, having a presence in their box and looking to play it forward.
... his impression of Tolga Ciğerci:
Sandro Schwarz: Tolga Ciğerci did a good job last weekend. He’s a player who knows how much responsibility he must take on, in terms of the team and our tactics. Tolga has made a very good impression in training. His personality is a huge asset for us as a group.
... working on set pieces in training:
Sandro Schwarz: We’re always working on set pieces in training, both attacking and defending them. That’s not solely due to the goal we conceded against Mönchengladbach, as this is always something we work on in training. There’s still room for improvement there, so that we don’t concede any unnecessary goals.