Centre back Niklas Süle has started all eleven Bundesliga games so far this season for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. He has though been unable to prevent TSG from dropping into the relegation zone. On Bundesliga matchday 12 Hoffenheim will look to record their second win of the season as they host Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday. For Niklas Süle this will be a special encounter, as the 20-year-old spent many years in Eintracht's youth department and in his last match with his former employees he suffered a cruciate ligament rupture.
Oliver Jensen spoke to Süle exclusively for DFB.de and discussed his quick recovery, his new coach Huub Stevens and the upcoming qualifying campaign for the U21 European Championships.
DFB.de: Mr. Süle, what has changed since Huub Stevens was chosen as your new coach?
Süle: For one and half weeks our new coach has been teaching us his philosophy. We trained hard and worked a lot in tactical areas. At Köln (0-0), we were already able to improve our attacking display and created several good chances.
DFB.de: Huub Steven is generally regarded as a defensive minded coach.
Süle: That's stereotyped thinking. Our coach is not exclusively looking to play defensive football. In Cologne we didn’t just play defensive football, but were obviously glad that we didn’t concede a goal. Unfortunately we still had problems in our game at times, like when I lost possession despite the lack of any real pressure. But that can happen. Due to our current situation we may also lack confidence at the moment and we can only win that back through hard work.
DFB.de: TSG Hoffenheim are currently in 17th place and already three points away from the relegation play-off spot. Are you already in the relegation battle?
Süle: It's still early in the season and we have a young team with lots of potential to improve. Our squad has a lot of quality. If we play give 100% in every game and win back our confidence, we will improve quickly in the standings. Hopefully we can take the next step on Saturday.
Centre back Niklas Süle has started all eleven Bundesliga games so far this season for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. He has though been unable to prevent TSG from dropping into the relegation zone. On Bundesliga matchday 12 Hoffenheim will look to record their second win of the season as they host Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday. For Niklas Süle this will be a special encounter, as the 20-year-old spent many years in Eintracht's youth department and in his last match with his former employees he suffered a cruciate ligament rupture.
Oliver Jensen spoke to Süle exclusively for DFB.de and discussed his quick recovery, his new coach Huub Stevens and the upcoming qualifying campaign for the U21 European Championships.
DFB.de: Mr. Süle, what has changed since Huub Stevens was chosen as your new coach?
Süle: For one and half weeks our new coach has been teaching us his philosophy. We trained hard and worked a lot in tactical areas. At Köln (0-0), we were already able to improve our attacking display and created several good chances.
DFB.de: Huub Steven is generally regarded as a defensive minded coach.
Süle: That's stereotyped thinking. Our coach is not exclusively looking to play defensive football. In Cologne we didn’t just play defensive football, but were obviously glad that we didn’t concede a goal. Unfortunately we still had problems in our game at times, like when I lost possession despite the lack of any real pressure. But that can happen. Due to our current situation we may also lack confidence at the moment and we can only win that back through hard work.
DFB.de: TSG Hoffenheim are currently in 17th place and already three points away from the relegation play-off spot. Are you already in the relegation battle?
Süle: It's still early in the season and we have a young team with lots of potential to improve. Our squad has a lot of quality. If we play give 100% in every game and win back our confidence, we will improve quickly in the standings. Hopefully we can take the next step on Saturday.
DFB.de: Next you face Eintracht Frankfurt, a club you played for as a youth player. Will it be a special game for you?
Süle: Yes of course. A lot of friends and relatives from my home town will be in the stadium. My father and my uncle are still Eintracht fans, but will probably be cheering for Hoffenheim on Saturday. I used to attend a lot of Eintracht's Bundesliga games and I'm sure it will be a good game.
DFB.de: Your last game with Eintracht ended with you suffering a severe injury.
Süle: That's right, I tore my cruciate ligament. It's been almost a year now.
DFB.de: You recovered from that injury extremely well and you've played the full 90 minutes in all eleven Bundesliga games this season. Many other players have struggled after such an injury. What's your secret?
Süle: I worked hard and I was fortunate that my meniscus or cartilage didn’t also get damaged. This allowed me to return to lifting weights quite quickly and once the pre-season preparation started I was able to fully participate. The support I received from the club was phenomenal, which is also one of the reasons I decided to extend my contract.
DFB.de: After your Bundesliga game with Frankfurt on the weekend you head out to Germany's U21 national team to take on Azerbaijan and Austria in the qualifying for the European Championships. The first leg against Azerbaijan ended with a 3-0 victory. What else can you say about them?
Süle: The game with Azerbaijan wasn't easy. We played on Astroturf, it was quite warm and we had to deal with the time difference. We struggled quite a bit and even missed two penalties. But in the end it was a solid win and we didn’t allow our opponent any chances. But we could've also recorded a higher win.
DFB.de: And Austria?
Süle: Austria are in second place in our group and they have many good players who are active in the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga for their clubs. It will be our most important game in the group and we want to win it. If we play to our best we will keep the three points here.
