Christian Gentner has experienced a lot. The 30-year-old has appeared in 305 Bundesliga games in total, and last season avoided relegation with VfB Stuttgart right at the death.
The midfielder has never won the DFB Cup, but has been in the final twice. Today (19:00 CET) he has the opportunity to book his place in the quarterfinals with Stuttgart. Second division side Eintracht Braunschweig stand in the way, and will be hoping for a win against the side which is currently 18th in the Bundesliga. Stuttgart captain sat down with Niels Barnhofer ahead of the match.
DFB.de: Mr. Gentner, are you a confident person?
Christian Gentner: Yes, I would say so.
DFB.de: Then tell us, what’s more difficult, staying in the Bundesliga or winning the DFB Cup?
Gentner: We need a lot of points in the Bundesliga if we want to stay up. We can do it, even if it looks very difficult at this stage. Winning the DFB Cup always has a lot to do with how much luck you get along the way.
DFB.de: You have been champion of Germany twice, but never a cup winner. Why is that do you think?
Gentner: It’s always the little things that decide the finals. In 2007 against Nürnberg we had a lot of good chances, and in 2013 against Bayern we did too – even if it didn’t seem like that at the time.
DFB.de: How much do you think Stuttgart want to win the DFB Cup this season?
Gentner: We are only thinking about the round of 16 match against Eintracht Braunschweig, and then the important Bundesliga match against Wolfsburg.
DFB.de: Is there a difference between your performances in the league and cup?
Gentner: We have the opportunity, because of the mid-week cup match, to regain our confidence. Even if the nature of a cup game is completely different. It’s not about style, it’s about getting to the next round.
DFB.de: How important would it be for the team to reach the quarter final of the DFB Cup?
Gentner: It will do us a lot of good in terms of confidence for the whole team. For that reason, we will give our all to beat Braunschweig.
DFB.de: What are the difficulties in facing a second-division side?
Gentner: As a Bundesliga side at home, you are always going to be favourites. But the cup has showed previously that underdogs are more than capable of getting something from games. We are expecting a very difficult task.
DFB.de: As you say, Stuttgart are at home and in a league above – a win would be completely expected. Is that a difficult situation?
Gentner: No. We look forward to the cup night, and want to use the chance to present ourselves well as a team.
DFB.de: What makes you optimistic about the game against Braunschweig?
Gentner: I approach every game with a high level of optimism. If we perform well, and don’t make any silly mistakes, then we will progress to the next round.
DFB.de: Do you use the classic cup clichés, such as: the cup has rules of its own, or there’s no such thing as easy opposition?
Gentner: I think that every single player has used these before. We showed how difficult it can be against small teams in previous rounds (Kiel and Jena). Braunschweig know they have a chance, and will come to Stuttgart with confidence on the back of their win last weekend.
DFB.de: Tell us then what Stuttgart will have achieved in the cup and league by the end of the season.
Gentner: It will do us good to concentrate on the next match. We want to win this, and book our place in the quarterfinal.
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Christian Gentner has experienced a lot. The 30-year-old has appeared in 305 Bundesliga games in total, and last season avoided relegation with VfB Stuttgart right at the death.
The midfielder has never won the DFB Cup, but has been in the final twice. Today (19:00 CET) he has the opportunity to book his place in the quarterfinals with Stuttgart. Second division side Eintracht Braunschweig stand in the way, and will be hoping for a win against the side which is currently 18th in the Bundesliga. Stuttgart captain sat down with Niels Barnhofer ahead of the match.
DFB.de: Mr. Gentner, are you a confident person?
Christian Gentner: Yes, I would say so.
DFB.de: Then tell us, what’s more difficult, staying in the Bundesliga or winning the DFB Cup?
Gentner: We need a lot of points in the Bundesliga if we want to stay up. We can do it, even if it looks very difficult at this stage. Winning the DFB Cup always has a lot to do with how much luck you get along the way.
DFB.de: You have been champion of Germany twice, but never a cup winner. Why is that do you think?
Gentner: It’s always the little things that decide the finals. In 2007 against Nürnberg we had a lot of good chances, and in 2013 against Bayern we did too – even if it didn’t seem like that at the time.
DFB.de: How much do you think Stuttgart want to win the DFB Cup this season?
Gentner: We are only thinking about the round of 16 match against Eintracht Braunschweig, and then the important Bundesliga match against Wolfsburg.
DFB.de: Is there a difference between your performances in the league and cup?
Gentner: We have the opportunity, because of the mid-week cup match, to regain our confidence. Even if the nature of a cup game is completely different. It’s not about style, it’s about getting to the next round.
DFB.de: How important would it be for the team to reach the quarter final of the DFB Cup?
Gentner: It will do us a lot of good in terms of confidence for the whole team. For that reason, we will give our all to beat Braunschweig.
DFB.de: What are the difficulties in facing a second-division side?
Gentner: As a Bundesliga side at home, you are always going to be favourites. But the cup has showed previously that underdogs are more than capable of getting something from games. We are expecting a very difficult task.
DFB.de: As you say, Stuttgart are at home and in a league above – a win would be completely expected. Is that a difficult situation?
Gentner: No. We look forward to the cup night, and want to use the chance to present ourselves well as a team.
DFB.de: What makes you optimistic about the game against Braunschweig?
Gentner: I approach every game with a high level of optimism. If we perform well, and don’t make any silly mistakes, then we will progress to the next round.
DFB.de: Do you use the classic cup clichés, such as: the cup has rules of its own, or there’s no such thing as easy opposition?
Gentner: I think that every single player has used these before. We showed how difficult it can be against small teams in previous rounds (Kiel and Jena). Braunschweig know they have a chance, and will come to Stuttgart with confidence on the back of their win last weekend.
DFB.de: Tell us then what Stuttgart will have achieved in the cup and league by the end of the season.
Gentner: It will do us good to concentrate on the next match. We want to win this, and book our place in the quarterfinal.
