Sven Bender is back. The seven-time Germany international put on a strong performance on matchday 30 during Borussia Dortmund’s 2-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt. You wouldn’t have noticed that it was his first start for two-and- a-half weeks – the holding midfielder ran 12.35km during the match, more than any other player on the pitch and won the most one-on-one duels (19).
"Altogether I wasn’t out too long”, said the BVB star, who turns 26 years old today, about his current shape. The Dortmund midfielder suffered a pulled hamstring during the 3-2 victory over TSG Hoffenheim in the DFB Cup quarter final, but now he’s back just in time for the semi final on Tuesday against FC Bayern München. In an interview with
DFB.de, Sven Bender talks about Dortmund’s strange season this year, the battle for a Europa League spot and the cup showdown against the record cup winners.
DFB.de: Sven Bender, it wasn’t long ago that people were talking about Dortmund being involved in a relegation battle, now you are fighting for a place in the Europa League. How can you explain this turn around?
Bender: It’s been a crazy Bundesliga season. It makes you realise how tight it is the whole time. It’s amazing that we have been able to collect so many points since January to close the gap on everyone.
DFB.de: You added to that recently with two home wins against Paderborn and Frankfurt…
Bender: Yes. We definitely wanted to get secure those six points. You can see how tight it still is. We’ve definitely gained a lot of self-confidence recently. It’s all to play for now. In the next week we face Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga. It’s a huge game for us in the battle for the Europa League places.
DFB.de: If you can win the remaining home games, do you think that’ll be enough to lock up the European spot?
Bender: We’ll have to see about that. It’s obviously good to win your home games, then you can establish yourself near the top. It definitely puts you on the right course towards European football. But it would also be good if we won away too.
DFB.de: How did you feel against Eintracht Frankfurt having overcome your hamstring injury?
Bender: Altogether I wasn’t out for too long. Last week against Paderborn it was too soon, even though I was able to take part in the final training session. It was just too dangerous for me; therefore I delayed my return by a week. It’s always good to come back with a win; it makes everything feel a lot better.
DFB.de: Did referee Michael Weiner have to warn you about getting a second yellow card and being dismissed?
Bender: Yes but that wasn’t until the beginning of the second half, it was nothing sinister. I told him “I still need to get stuck in a bit, it is still football after all.” After that I needed to hold back a little and be cleverer going into challenges. I managed it, we won and everything worked out well.
DFB.de: How much can the Frankfurt match be seen as a performance indicator for the DFB Cup semi final on Tuesday in München? Bayern are on a different level right?
Bender: True, but Frankfurt were above us for a long time. First we needed to beat them. We did that. Now we face Bayern, it’s a completely different game. We will concentrate on our preparations and go into the game ready.
DFB.de: Will it be an even game?
Bender: I think we played well here at home when we lost 1-0 to Bayern. Also earlier in the season in Munich I think we kept up with the pace for long spells. Obviously Bayern have shown recently that they are in fantastic shape, despite having so many players missing.
DFB.de: What gives you optimism going into the game?
Bender: I think we’ve gotten ourselves into a good position in the league with our recent performances. The six points obviously give us security. On a good day we are definitely capable of beating Bayern. It’s a cup semi final with everything to play for. We will try to give everything possible in order to succeed. It would be great to make it to Berlin again this year.
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Sven Bender is back. The seven-time Germany international put on a strong performance on matchday 30 during Borussia Dortmund’s 2-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt. You wouldn’t have noticed that it was his first start for two-and- a-half weeks – the holding midfielder ran 12.35km during the match, more than any other player on the pitch and won the most one-on-one duels (19).
"Altogether I wasn’t out too long”, said the BVB star, who turns 26 years old today, about his current shape. The Dortmund midfielder suffered a pulled hamstring during the 3-2 victory over TSG Hoffenheim in the DFB Cup quarter final, but now he’s back just in time for the semi final on Tuesday against FC Bayern München. In an interview with
DFB.de, Sven Bender talks about Dortmund’s strange season this year, the battle for a Europa League spot and the cup showdown against the record cup winners.
DFB.de: Sven Bender, it wasn’t long ago that people were talking about Dortmund being involved in a relegation battle, now you are fighting for a place in the Europa League. How can you explain this turn around?
Bender: It’s been a crazy Bundesliga season. It makes you realise how tight it is the whole time. It’s amazing that we have been able to collect so many points since January to close the gap on everyone.
DFB.de: You added to that recently with two home wins against Paderborn and Frankfurt…
Bender: Yes. We definitely wanted to get secure those six points. You can see how tight it still is. We’ve definitely gained a lot of self-confidence recently. It’s all to play for now. In the next week we face Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga. It’s a huge game for us in the battle for the Europa League places.
DFB.de: If you can win the remaining home games, do you think that’ll be enough to lock up the European spot?
Bender: We’ll have to see about that. It’s obviously good to win your home games, then you can establish yourself near the top. It definitely puts you on the right course towards European football. But it would also be good if we won away too.
DFB.de: How did you feel against Eintracht Frankfurt having overcome your hamstring injury?
Bender: Altogether I wasn’t out for too long. Last week against Paderborn it was too soon, even though I was able to take part in the final training session. It was just too dangerous for me; therefore I delayed my return by a week. It’s always good to come back with a win; it makes everything feel a lot better.
DFB.de: Did referee Michael Weiner have to warn you about getting a second yellow card and being dismissed?
Bender: Yes but that wasn’t until the beginning of the second half, it was nothing sinister. I told him “I still need to get stuck in a bit, it is still football after all.” After that I needed to hold back a little and be cleverer going into challenges. I managed it, we won and everything worked out well.
DFB.de: How much can the Frankfurt match be seen as a performance indicator for the DFB Cup semi final on Tuesday in München? Bayern are on a different level right?
Bender: True, but Frankfurt were above us for a long time. First we needed to beat them. We did that. Now we face Bayern, it’s a completely different game. We will concentrate on our preparations and go into the game ready.
DFB.de: Will it be an even game?
Bender: I think we played well here at home when we lost 1-0 to Bayern. Also earlier in the season in Munich I think we kept up with the pace for long spells. Obviously Bayern have shown recently that they are in fantastic shape, despite having so many players missing.
DFB.de: What gives you optimism going into the game?
Bender: I think we’ve gotten ourselves into a good position in the league with our recent performances. The six points obviously give us security. On a good day we are definitely capable of beating Bayern. It’s a cup semi final with everything to play for. We will try to give everything possible in order to succeed. It would be great to make it to Berlin again this year.
