When Mats Hummels left the Borussia Dortmund dressing room following a comfortable 2-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, he stopped for a second to check the Bundesliga results on one of the screens in the basement of the Signal Iduna Park. It was then he realized that FC Augsburg – just like FC Schalke 04 the day before – had lost their match. So two competitors for the Europa League spots had not gained a single point that weekend. With four matches to go, Dortmund are only three points behind fifth place and are have a great chance to reach the European spots through their league.
Two more victories in the German cup would of course also be enough, starting with tonight’s highly anticipated semi-final clash in Munich (20.30 CEST). In an interview with DFB.de, Hummels goes into detail about the importance of the match at FC Bayern.
DFB.de: Mats Hummels, ahead of the cup semi-final, Borussia Dortmund, seemingly out of nowhere, have the chance of finishing the Bundesliga in style. What’s your take on the situation?
Hummels: We knew that by beating Frankfurt we’d have a huge chance to reach the Europa League spots and perhaps accomplish something which would be of great significance for our fans – finishing ahead of Schalke. This now seems possible. Ten weeks ago the situation was completely different. But now we can aim high in the Bundesliga, as well as the cup. These aims wouldn’t have been satisfactory for us before the season, but after this campaign they could make for a reasonably happy ending – if we achieve them of course.
DFB.de: You mentioned the German cup. You’ll be facing FC Bayern München in the semi-finals. What kind of a match do you expect?
Hummels: It’s going to be an awesome game. Bayern are one of the three best sides in the world, there is no doubt about that. Especially at home they are extremely strong. I think it has always been like that, but it feels like it has been even more the case in the past one or two years. It’s going to be a huge challenge. But we’ve proven more than once that these matches against Bayern are always tight. Small details make the difference. I am pretty sure this will again be the case in this match.
DFB.de: If Bayern München are indeed one of the three best sides in the world, you will need something special to eliminate them, right?
Hummels: No, it doesn’t take anything special, but we will need to work together as a team; we have to be compact in defence and will aim to deliver and finish efficient counter-attacks. That’s something a lot of Bayern’s opponents struggle with, but we have a knack for it. In our home match at the beginning of April we took a different approach, but I think we will not press them as high in this game. We will see what kind of details we’ll take into account when picking our approach. In general, I believe you have to face these kinds of teams with maximum focus and complete passion. If you are then also able to bring good football to the table, it could give you the edge in these kinds of matches.
DFB.de: It sounds as if you are fairly optimistic. What did you feel when you saw Bayern winning their second leg of the Champions League quarter final 6-1 against FC Porto?
Hummels: Hummels: I was always under the assumption Bayern would quickly turn it around. Or to put it differently: I was fairly surprised that so many experts predicted them to be eliminated ahead of that match. Let’s be honest: Bayern needed a 2-0 victory to go through, at home… so please! But for us nothing has changed. I think everyone who tunes in to watch this match tonight can look forward to some high level football.
DFB.de: And then there is also the last match under Jürgen Klopp in Berlin to consider. Would that be a worthy final stop of a seven year journey together?
Hummels: Yes, absolutely!
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When Mats Hummels left the Borussia Dortmund dressing room following a comfortable 2-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, he stopped for a second to check the Bundesliga results on one of the screens in the basement of the Signal Iduna Park. It was then he realized that FC Augsburg – just like FC Schalke 04 the day before – had lost their match. So two competitors for the Europa League spots had not gained a single point that weekend. With four matches to go, Dortmund are only three points behind fifth place and are have a great chance to reach the European spots through their league.
Two more victories in the German cup would of course also be enough, starting with tonight’s highly anticipated semi-final clash in Munich (20.30 CEST). In an interview with DFB.de, Hummels goes into detail about the importance of the match at FC Bayern.
DFB.de: Mats Hummels, ahead of the cup semi-final, Borussia Dortmund, seemingly out of nowhere, have the chance of finishing the Bundesliga in style. What’s your take on the situation?
Hummels: We knew that by beating Frankfurt we’d have a huge chance to reach the Europa League spots and perhaps accomplish something which would be of great significance for our fans – finishing ahead of Schalke. This now seems possible. Ten weeks ago the situation was completely different. But now we can aim high in the Bundesliga, as well as the cup. These aims wouldn’t have been satisfactory for us before the season, but after this campaign they could make for a reasonably happy ending – if we achieve them of course.
DFB.de: You mentioned the German cup. You’ll be facing FC Bayern München in the semi-finals. What kind of a match do you expect?
Hummels: It’s going to be an awesome game. Bayern are one of the three best sides in the world, there is no doubt about that. Especially at home they are extremely strong. I think it has always been like that, but it feels like it has been even more the case in the past one or two years. It’s going to be a huge challenge. But we’ve proven more than once that these matches against Bayern are always tight. Small details make the difference. I am pretty sure this will again be the case in this match.
DFB.de: If Bayern München are indeed one of the three best sides in the world, you will need something special to eliminate them, right?
Hummels: No, it doesn’t take anything special, but we will need to work together as a team; we have to be compact in defence and will aim to deliver and finish efficient counter-attacks. That’s something a lot of Bayern’s opponents struggle with, but we have a knack for it. In our home match at the beginning of April we took a different approach, but I think we will not press them as high in this game. We will see what kind of details we’ll take into account when picking our approach. In general, I believe you have to face these kinds of teams with maximum focus and complete passion. If you are then also able to bring good football to the table, it could give you the edge in these kinds of matches.
DFB.de: It sounds as if you are fairly optimistic. What did you feel when you saw Bayern winning their second leg of the Champions League quarter final 6-1 against FC Porto?
Hummels: Hummels: I was always under the assumption Bayern would quickly turn it around. Or to put it differently: I was fairly surprised that so many experts predicted them to be eliminated ahead of that match. Let’s be honest: Bayern needed a 2-0 victory to go through, at home… so please! But for us nothing has changed. I think everyone who tunes in to watch this match tonight can look forward to some high level football.
DFB.de: And then there is also the last match under Jürgen Klopp in Berlin to consider. Would that be a worthy final stop of a seven year journey together?
Hummels: Yes, absolutely!
