Just a few hours until the world champions begin their quest for the European Championship title in their opening group game with the Ukraine (kick-off: 21:00 CEST). Assistant coach Marcus Sorg spoke with DFB.de about the current situation in the team and the atmosphere in the squad.
DFB.de: Mr. Sorg, you've experienced a lot in your career but a European Championship will be something new for you as well. Were you able to get a good night's sleep?
Marcus Sorg: This isn’t something I’m used to, but fortunately I've never had any problems falling asleep! I have full trust in the qualities of our players and in the quality of our work together. The team is well prepared and we know what we have to do tonight. Ukraine are a good side, but I'm not worried. We are better than them and it's up to us to take advantage of that. I'm very optimistic that it will work out.
DFB.de: What makes the Ukraine such a difficult opponent?
Sorg: Just looking at the stats you can tell that it's difficult to score goals against them. They only conceded four times in their qualifying campaign and two of those were scored by Spain. Ukraine are very skilled at stopping their opponents from finding a rhythm. It's not easy to find solutions against them and to create opportunities. But we have the players and the tactics for that.
DFB.de: The Ukraine have a dangerous pairing on the wing with Dynamo Kiev's Andrej Jarmolenko and Jewgen Konopljanka from Sevilla.
Sorg: These two players dictate Ukraine's pace, both in attack and in defence. They are very attacking minded and always want the ball. If their full backs then move up as well they actually play in a very high line. This can be a chance for us to create some space.
DFB.de: Jarmolenko and Konopljanka also have their strengths in one-on-one situations.
Just a few hours until the world champions begin their quest for the European Championship title in their opening group game with the Ukraine (kick-off: 21:00 CEST). Assistant coach Marcus Sorg spoke with DFB.de about the current situation in the team and the atmosphere in the squad.
DFB.de: Mr. Sorg, you've experienced a lot in your career but a European Championship will be something new for you as well. Were you able to get a good night's sleep?
Marcus Sorg: This isn’t something I’m used to, but fortunately I've never had any problems falling asleep! I have full trust in the qualities of our players and in the quality of our work together. The team is well prepared and we know what we have to do tonight. Ukraine are a good side, but I'm not worried. We are better than them and it's up to us to take advantage of that. I'm very optimistic that it will work out.
DFB.de: What makes the Ukraine such a difficult opponent?
Sorg: Just looking at the stats you can tell that it's difficult to score goals against them. They only conceded four times in their qualifying campaign and two of those were scored by Spain. Ukraine are very skilled at stopping their opponents from finding a rhythm. It's not easy to find solutions against them and to create opportunities. But we have the players and the tactics for that.
DFB.de: The Ukraine have a dangerous pairing on the wing with Dynamo Kiev's Andrej Jarmolenko and Jewgen Konopljanka from Sevilla.
Sorg: These two players dictate Ukraine's pace, both in attack and in defence. They are very attacking minded and always want the ball. If their full backs then move up as well they actually play in a very high line. This can be a chance for us to create some space.
DFB.de: Jarmolenko and Konopljanka also have their strengths in one-on-one situations.
Sorg: Our defenders do as well. But you're right, both players are quality dribblers of the ball. For us this means that we have to try and prevent passes from reaching them. And we have to be close to our opposition in order to immediately put pressure on them when they receive the ball.
DFB.de: The people in Germany are debating Germany's captaincy for the match against Ukraine. Are you able to shed any light on this?
Sorg: I can only repeat what the national team coach said yesterday. We have a captain for this EURO: Bastian Schweinsteiger. It's not that relevant for us who will wear the captain's armband tonight. We have several players, who have the experience and reputation to take on this responsibility. It's more a topic that's discussed in the media. The team has been informed and tonight at 9pm everyone else will find out as well.
