Centre back Gerrit Nauber scraped and fought from the first whistle to the last. The Sportfreunde Lotto captain nevertheless enjoyed the intense DFB Pokal game against Borussia Dortmund . Still, he was disappointed to go down 3-0 against the heavy favourites in front of 15,780 spectators in Osnabrück. In an interview with DFB, Nauber spoke of playing a home game in a neutral venue, the end of the Lotte cup dream and the ambitions if the 3rd Division club, who are back in league action this Sunday against Halleschen FC.
Question: Mr Nauber, how is the mood in the team after the 3-0 defeat?
Gerrit Nauber: Obviously we are disappointed. We wanted to create a miracle, and that has not happened: We played so well up until the first goal and we might have even taken the lead with a bit of luck in the first half. It was frustrating that we went behind to a counter attack. They got better and better and that, winning more balls in midfield and taking the 50-50s. They had more chances on goal, so you can’t say they did not deserve the win.
Q: It was the fourth game for your team in ten days. Did the legs become heavier after going behind off the back of all those games?
Nauber: For a game like that you cannot use the legs as an excuse, because everyone had to run. The turning point was the goal. We said at half time we wanted to keep the score at 0-0 for as long as possible, but unfortunately we couldn’t hold on.
Q: Would Sportfreunde have benefited from home advantage?
Nauber: For me it did not make much of a difference. The atmosphere was similar to one we would have had in our own stadium. There was more Blue than yellow there so it was okay.
Q: As the home team, how come you chose the away dressing room?
Nauber: We did not want any new surroundings, because we had already played there in the league, so we did not want the other dressing room.
Q: How was the pitch?
Nauber: It was similar to ours. Perhaps a little bit smoother, but there were also holes. To place blame on the grass though would not be fair. We found a solution and did everything we could. We were organised until the 55th minute, then Dortmund scored and there was no way back from there.
Q: How do you rate your run this year?
Nauber: We had a great run, the kind of run I have never had before. But at the same time we are disappointed because you could see we could have done it. Especially in the first half we were a little bit more on the ball than them. We had a chance to do something sensational, and although we didn’t do it, we must now respond to that and get on with other things.
Q: Can you now say that you have left here with your heads held high, particularly because of the first half?
Nauber: I believe everyone knows what it is like to lose a big game and then come back stronger. That’s what we are going through now, because we are disappointed the day after the match. But we are back in action of Sunday in the 3rd division and must be ready to deliver.
Q: How difficult will it be now to focus on the league when you have played with teams from a higher division?
Nauber: What do you mean a higher division? I just look at today’s result. The league situation is intriguing at the moment. If you win two games you can go up but if you two games you cannot be factor. You can just take things game by game.
Q: Will you only take positives out of that first half?
Nauber: To a certain extent, yes. We started the game so well. The confidence we had in the first 45 minutes we should definitely take with us.
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Centre back Gerrit Nauber scraped and fought from the first whistle to the last. The Sportfreunde Lotto captain nevertheless enjoyed the intense DFB Pokal game against Borussia Dortmund . Still, he was disappointed to go down 3-0 against the heavy favourites in front of 15,780 spectators in Osnabrück. In an interview with DFB, Nauber spoke of playing a home game in a neutral venue, the end of the Lotte cup dream and the ambitions if the 3rd Division club, who are back in league action this Sunday against Halleschen FC.
Question: Mr Nauber, how is the mood in the team after the 3-0 defeat?
Gerrit Nauber: Obviously we are disappointed. We wanted to create a miracle, and that has not happened: We played so well up until the first goal and we might have even taken the lead with a bit of luck in the first half. It was frustrating that we went behind to a counter attack. They got better and better and that, winning more balls in midfield and taking the 50-50s. They had more chances on goal, so you can’t say they did not deserve the win.
Q: It was the fourth game for your team in ten days. Did the legs become heavier after going behind off the back of all those games?
Nauber: For a game like that you cannot use the legs as an excuse, because everyone had to run. The turning point was the goal. We said at half time we wanted to keep the score at 0-0 for as long as possible, but unfortunately we couldn’t hold on.
Q: Would Sportfreunde have benefited from home advantage?
Nauber: For me it did not make much of a difference. The atmosphere was similar to one we would have had in our own stadium. There was more Blue than yellow there so it was okay.
Q: As the home team, how come you chose the away dressing room?
Nauber: We did not want any new surroundings, because we had already played there in the league, so we did not want the other dressing room.
Q: How was the pitch?
Nauber: It was similar to ours. Perhaps a little bit smoother, but there were also holes. To place blame on the grass though would not be fair. We found a solution and did everything we could. We were organised until the 55th minute, then Dortmund scored and there was no way back from there.
Q: How do you rate your run this year?
Nauber: We had a great run, the kind of run I have never had before. But at the same time we are disappointed because you could see we could have done it. Especially in the first half we were a little bit more on the ball than them. We had a chance to do something sensational, and although we didn’t do it, we must now respond to that and get on with other things.
Q: Can you now say that you have left here with your heads held high, particularly because of the first half?
Nauber: I believe everyone knows what it is like to lose a big game and then come back stronger. That’s what we are going through now, because we are disappointed the day after the match. But we are back in action of Sunday in the 3rd division and must be ready to deliver.
Q: How difficult will it be now to focus on the league when you have played with teams from a higher division?
Nauber: What do you mean a higher division? I just look at today’s result. The league situation is intriguing at the moment. If you win two games you can go up but if you two games you cannot be factor. You can just take things game by game.
Q: Will you only take positives out of that first half?
Nauber: To a certain extent, yes. We started the game so well. The confidence we had in the first 45 minutes we should definitely take with us.
