Hürzeler: “Have to make up for the loss of Jackson as a team“
Friday, 15. September 2023, 12:38 Uhr
The Boys in Brown return from the international break with a home game against second-placed Holstein Kiel on Sunday (13.30 CET). Head coach Fabian Hürzeler took time out in the run-up to look ahead to the game in conversation with the media.
Fabian Hürzeler on...
...the loss of captain Jackson Irvine: “It was obviously bad news for us and the whole club. Jackson is an incredibly valuable player for us. That said, when one door closes, another one opens, and that’s how we’ll approach it. We have a super squad and lots of options for replacing Jackson. We know it won’t be easy. We have to make up for his loss as a team. We’ll stick to our system and our patterns. We have lots of players who can and want to take on responsibility. They’ve already shown that.”
...new signing Simon Zoller: “He told me he was ready and asked how it looks for him this weekend. We’ll have to see and have another chat with the medical department. We shouldn’t rush things or take any risks. We have enough games left where he’ll be of help to us. He took part in some of yesterday’s session and will train again today. We’ll have to see how much and then we’ll know if it’s enough for the weekend.“
...opponents Holstein Kiel: “They’re a very complete team who defend very well, operate with a good structure in possession and are excellent from set pieces. They play simple, effective football. They take up great positions in the gaps and get men into the box. In Shuto Machino and Benedikt Pichler, they have two good transitional players who are always in the right place at the moment. Their mix of low and high balls is good and they have the right type of players for that mix. This mix and the luck they’re enjoying make Kiel a very good team at the moment. You can see that in the table, they deserve to be in second place. They’re on a roll at the moment. They have a certain quality in the team and the mix I already mentioned makes them so dangerous.“
...whether he’ll change the system: “We have lots of options. Ultimately, it’s always a question of weighing up what spaces we want to penetrate and what type of player is important for that. Kiel have three big players at the back, so we’re considering if it makes sense to go with a target man, a mobile striker who’s good with his back to goal, or a striker who’s good at making runs in deep. We’ll have to weigh up how we expect Kiel. We’re assuming they’re more likely to sit back and play on transition. We have to be well prepared for what we expect and then take the optimum decisions. I hope we can finally get our first three points here at home.”
Photos: Witters
