End of suspense at the goalkeeper post. At a press conference, Adi Hütter confirmed the return in goal of Radoslaw Majecki against Lille on Friday and the end of the interim period for Philipp Köhn: “ Radek will make his return in goal. We will change. And I’ll explain why before I have a second question on the subject. Philipp (Köhn) was our number 1 last season when he arrived. But he sowed doubt in our minds and we decided to make this change of goalkeeper. Radek was clearly installed as number one and he was a very, very important piece in achieving our big goals last season. »
The Austrian technician wanted to pay tribute to the performances of Philipp Köhn at the start of the season, while ASM has conceded few goals so far (7 in 9 matches): “ Philipp was given the opportunity to return to goal after Radek’s injury in the offseason. But he is now fit and can return to his place. I want to pay tribute to Philipp’s performances, what he has achieved since the start of the season. »
Of course the announcement was not necessarily a pleasant moment for Hütter, even if Köhn was understanding: “ We spoke with both. It was not an easy decision but Radek is here and he is our number one. As you can imagine, no one is happy to receive this announcement, but that’s football. I have empathy for him. He’s a professional. It was hard to accept but he respects this decision, which was not easy for us to make as well. As a coach you have to make decisions and it was our duty to do so. »
If Hütter had to decide, he also agreed that it would have been unfair to relegate Majecki to the role of understudy while he was injured: “ He was incredible last season with six clean sheets (seven, editor’s note) in twelve matches. Philipp has also been good this season. But the reality is that Radek was sidelined due to injury and not his performance. On the one hand, it’s a bit sad for Philipp, but I’m also happy to have three good goalkeepers and I also include Yann Lienard. I have confidence in these three players. »
