Leonardo Bittencourt was visibly downbeat after Hannover 96’s 3-2 loss to Borussia Dortmund on Saturday. The Germany U21 international had been one of the best players on the pitch, but then two yellow cards in the space of six minutes early in the second half saw him dismissed with the score at 1-1 and the momentum that the Lower Saxony club had built shifted.
Hannover had to play with just ten men for the final 35 minutes against Borussia Dortmund and were unable to keep the visitors at bay. Bittencourt apologised for his sending-off after the loss to his former club and DFB.de heard what he had to say about the game.
DFB.de: Leonardo Bittencourt, how painful is that 3-2 defeat to Borussia Dortmund?
Leonardo Bittencourt: Very painful. First of all, I have to apologise to the team for my red card, although I feel that with a bit more tact, the referee could have let me off as it wasn’t a reckless challenge and I hadn’t been playing aggressively throughout the match.
DFB.de: What did you make of the two incidents that you were booked for?
Bittencourt: It was a foul in both cases, there’s no doubt about that. I was just a little slow to react in the tackle with Sebastian Kehl for the second one. It’s a 50:50 ball, I’m just a tad late. But like I said, I wasn’t playing aggressively.
DFB.de: Could the result have been different without your sending-off?
Bittencourt: The way we were playing, I’m convinced we could have won the game with eleven men. You could see that we were playing as a unit. I’m really sorry for the team. I have to apologise because I think we could have gotten something from the game. I will have to cook something up as an apology to them.
DFB.de: Your team fought right until the last minute. What do you make of the spirit they showed?
Bittencourt: I don’t think I have to say a lot about that – we all saw it. The fans really got behind us today as well. It shows that things are right within the team, and that goes for the manager as well. He set us up well; we got stuck in and had a number of great chances. We must come through this situation together and we’ll only come through it together. I’m positive that we can do it.
DFB.de: How much is the discussion surrounding the manager affecting the players?
Bittencourt: Not at all. There’s nothing to discuss as far as we’re concerned. We have to escape this crisis together with the manager.
DFB.de: What do you make of how things look in the table?
Bittencourt: The situation isn’t any worse than it was before. We’re still clear of the relegation zone and it’s in our own hands.
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Leonardo Bittencourt was visibly downbeat after Hannover 96’s 3-2 loss to Borussia Dortmund on Saturday. The Germany U21 international had been one of the best players on the pitch, but then two yellow cards in the space of six minutes early in the second half saw him dismissed with the score at 1-1 and the momentum that the Lower Saxony club had built shifted.
Hannover had to play with just ten men for the final 35 minutes against Borussia Dortmund and were unable to keep the visitors at bay. Bittencourt apologised for his sending-off after the loss to his former club and DFB.de heard what he had to say about the game.
DFB.de: Leonardo Bittencourt, how painful is that 3-2 defeat to Borussia Dortmund?
Leonardo Bittencourt: Very painful. First of all, I have to apologise to the team for my red card, although I feel that with a bit more tact, the referee could have let me off as it wasn’t a reckless challenge and I hadn’t been playing aggressively throughout the match.
DFB.de: What did you make of the two incidents that you were booked for?
Bittencourt: It was a foul in both cases, there’s no doubt about that. I was just a little slow to react in the tackle with Sebastian Kehl for the second one. It’s a 50:50 ball, I’m just a tad late. But like I said, I wasn’t playing aggressively.
DFB.de: Could the result have been different without your sending-off?
Bittencourt: The way we were playing, I’m convinced we could have won the game with eleven men. You could see that we were playing as a unit. I’m really sorry for the team. I have to apologise because I think we could have gotten something from the game. I will have to cook something up as an apology to them.
DFB.de: Your team fought right until the last minute. What do you make of the spirit they showed?
Bittencourt: I don’t think I have to say a lot about that – we all saw it. The fans really got behind us today as well. It shows that things are right within the team, and that goes for the manager as well. He set us up well; we got stuck in and had a number of great chances. We must come through this situation together and we’ll only come through it together. I’m positive that we can do it.
DFB.de: How much is the discussion surrounding the manager affecting the players?
Bittencourt: Not at all. There’s nothing to discuss as far as we’re concerned. We have to escape this crisis together with the manager.
DFB.de: What do you make of how things look in the table?
Bittencourt: The situation isn’t any worse than it was before. We’re still clear of the relegation zone and it’s in our own hands.
