Sunday evening, 7:30 p.m., 3rd Advent. A quick reunion in Klein Paris (no, not Heddernheim!). In the press conference, Dino Toppmöller compared a Bundesliga season to climbing an eight-thousander. Nice picture, I think. Right now it feels more like the toil of the plains or the return to base camp. About ten days ago I wrote the preliminary report on the cup game in Leipzig here. The high point of the series with seven wins and one draw in eight competitive games had just been reached. They had won clearly and confidently in Heidenheim two days earlier and were wondering when and how the somnambulistic flight would end. The answer came the next day with the silent defeat in the cup.
The mood around our SBU has changed noticeably in these almost ten days. It feels like we’ve all woken up from a beautiful dream and landed dully in reality. It becomes clear how high our demands are now, which is not surprising given the successful development of the last few years. Overall, what has happened in the last three games since the cup is not that unusual. The run has stopped and the luck of the game has been lost. The team is running on reserve. She is also young and is naturally subject to fluctuations in performance. Everything is explainable, but still annoying, because you would be depriving yourself of part of the total wages you absolutely deserve in this preliminary round. The last two games will now be a show of strength until you get a little break over the holidays.
Which brings us to the second Advent trip to Leipzig: Unfortunately, we often looked just as bad in the league as we did in the cup. Leipzig also has the opportunity to catch up with us. My hope is that the team, which makes a good impression in terms of character, will be absolutely willing to forget the appearance in the cup. Because this game, in which expectations are not particularly high, also offers an opportunity to change the mood again, and with 30 points in any case a very good starting position for 2025, regardless of the outcome of the game against Mainz.
I’m curious about the tactics: Will the coach try to make the game more based on ball possession or choose the switching game that has been so successful so far this season? The victim of the high load tomorrow will be Tuta, who will definitely be out. Hugo Larsson is back. I oracle the following list:
Let’s go! Leave everything on the pitch twice more so that lightness and self-confidence return.
(Titelbild: Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
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