Just seven more minutes, and Dominique Heintz would have been celebrating the perfect home debut. The Germany U21 international and 1. FC Köln were leading last season's runners-up and DFB Cup champions VfL Wolfsburg for the majority of Bundesliga matchday 2, but Nicklas Bendtner bagged a late 1-1 equaliser to deny Heintz from recording a victory in his professional home game for the Billy Goats.
The 22-year-old defender spoke with DFB.de after the game to discuss missed opportunities, his anticipation to play against the big names and Köln's new stability in defence.
DFB.de: Did Köln deserve more than just one point against Wolfsburg?
Dominique Heintz: We should've won the game. We had a huge chance at the start of the second half to take a two-goal lead. From my point of view, we were the better side, which is impressive considering Wolfsburg's quality in their attacking department. We never allowed them to show that off however, and we played great as a team.
DFB.de: How do you feel immediately after the game?
Heintz: It's unfortunate to concede such a goal so late in the game. At first I thought Bas Dost was offside, but that apparently wasn’t the case. We are certainly a little disappointed, but we also know that we can hold our heads high. We played against a Champions League side and last season's Cup winner. It was a great team performance.
DFB.de: There was a lot of action on the pitch in the closing stages of the game...
Heintz: There is always a chance for the game to slip out of our hands after conceding a late equaliser like that. Wolfsburg have fantastic quality in their attack, and Timo Horn made several great saves today.
DFB.de: What is it like for you personally to play against big names such as Kevin de Bruyne and Bas Dost?
Heintz: It was always my dream to play in the Bundesliga. To then play against players of their stature is a lot of fun. It's always great to compete with the best and we all seemed to get pushed by that today.
DFB.de: Has the team taken a step forward in terms of defensive stability?
Heintz: I think so. Against Stuttgart we weren't as stable defensively, but today we showed an improvement – apart from the final few minutes, when both teams seemed to lose their stability.
DFB.de: What do you expect from your next game?
Heintz: We have another home game against Hamburger SV. If we manage to get three points from that match, then we would have seven points after three games. We could definitely live with that.
DFB.de: How important was it that you played with two central defensive midfielders?
Heintz: It worked out very well. With two holding midfielders on the pitch you can spread out better. If you only have one defensive midfielder and he gets caught out of position, you have a huge hole in the central area in front of your defence. We played very well tactically today. Anthony Modeste and Simon Zoller played great in attack, but I could name all of our players today and praise them.
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Just seven more minutes, and Dominique Heintz would have been celebrating the perfect home debut. The Germany U21 international and 1. FC Köln were leading last season's runners-up and DFB Cup champions VfL Wolfsburg for the majority of Bundesliga matchday 2, but Nicklas Bendtner bagged a late 1-1 equaliser to deny Heintz from recording a victory in his professional home game for the Billy Goats.
The 22-year-old defender spoke with DFB.de after the game to discuss missed opportunities, his anticipation to play against the big names and Köln's new stability in defence.
DFB.de: Did Köln deserve more than just one point against Wolfsburg?
Dominique Heintz: We should've won the game. We had a huge chance at the start of the second half to take a two-goal lead. From my point of view, we were the better side, which is impressive considering Wolfsburg's quality in their attacking department. We never allowed them to show that off however, and we played great as a team.
DFB.de: How do you feel immediately after the game?
Heintz: It's unfortunate to concede such a goal so late in the game. At first I thought Bas Dost was offside, but that apparently wasn’t the case. We are certainly a little disappointed, but we also know that we can hold our heads high. We played against a Champions League side and last season's Cup winner. It was a great team performance.
DFB.de: There was a lot of action on the pitch in the closing stages of the game...
Heintz: There is always a chance for the game to slip out of our hands after conceding a late equaliser like that. Wolfsburg have fantastic quality in their attack, and Timo Horn made several great saves today.
DFB.de: What is it like for you personally to play against big names such as Kevin de Bruyne and Bas Dost?
Heintz: It was always my dream to play in the Bundesliga. To then play against players of their stature is a lot of fun. It's always great to compete with the best and we all seemed to get pushed by that today.
DFB.de: Has the team taken a step forward in terms of defensive stability?
Heintz: I think so. Against Stuttgart we weren't as stable defensively, but today we showed an improvement – apart from the final few minutes, when both teams seemed to lose their stability.
DFB.de: What do you expect from your next game?
Heintz: We have another home game against Hamburger SV. If we manage to get three points from that match, then we would have seven points after three games. We could definitely live with that.
DFB.de: How important was it that you played with two central defensive midfielders?
Heintz: It worked out very well. With two holding midfielders on the pitch you can spread out better. If you only have one defensive midfielder and he gets caught out of position, you have a huge hole in the central area in front of your defence. We played very well tactically today. Anthony Modeste and Simon Zoller played great in attack, but I could name all of our players today and praise them.
