VfL Wolfsburg suffered a big shock on the final matchday. A late 2-1 winner from Luca Waldschmidt gave Hamburger SV the victory, which forced the Wolves into the relegation play-off. Their opponents will be determined later on Sunday, as Eintracht Braunschweig, Hannover 96 and VfB Stuttgart are still fighting for the top three spots in the second division. In an interview with DFB.de, Germany international Mario Gomez spoke about the defeat in Hamburg and its consequences.
Question: Mr. Gomez, what are your thoughts following this nerve-wracking encounter.
Mario Gomez: I’m a bit speechless today. Football can be brutal. We have ourselves to blame for not scoring a second goal in the second half. We just tried to defend the result. Obviously it’s easy to say that with hindsight. During the game you look at how much time is left and know that the current result is enough to avoid relegation. Also, Hamburg didn’t give of the impression that they would make something happen.
Question: What exactly was the mistake your team made today?
Gomez: We didn’t really take advantage of the room that Hamburg offered to us because we just wanted to defend the 1-1. If all you're doing is reacting and not taking matters into your own hands, you are doing something wrong in football. Unfortunately that was the case today.
Question: What did your team have to do in order to create more pressure in the final third?
Gomez: We shouldn’t blame individual players for the performance today. Like I said: We failed to score the second goal as a team. If we had, we would’ve been ok.
Question: Your team has always said that they believe in their strength. However, they didn’t show that neither last weekend against Gladbach, nor here today.
Gomez: I disagree. In the first 30 minutes we showed a perfect away game performance. But we just couldn’t add to our lead, which is why we are finding ourselves near the bottom of the standings. The mental aspect plays a key role.
Question: How will you handle the mental pressure of the upcoming relegation play-off?
Gomez: We have to learn from this game here today. We can’t just defend a result anymore, we have to push and decide the game. I know that we are capable of this.
Question: Eintracht Braunschweig are your likely opponents in the relegation play-off. Do you know anything about them?
Gomez: Obviously I watch some games from the second division. In the end it doesn’t matter which team we have to play. It’s likely going to be Eintracht Braunschweig. There is no denying the fact that we are the better team. We have to prevail in two games and we will do it. Today’s game was the final evidence that nothing is being handed to us this season. We have to take matters into our own hands against Braunschweig and avoid playing too cautiously.
Question: In recent games you’ve received a lot of support from your fans. Roughly 6,000 supporters made the trip to Hamburg. Are you worried that the atmosphere will turn negative now after this game?
Gomez: No, but I can completely understand that the fans are disappointed today. I would be disappointed as a fan, if something like that happened to my team. I’m completely disappointed myself. But it’s not over; we are not relegated yet.
Question: What is the atmosphere like within the team?
Gomez: We are all down and disappointed. It’s fine if it stays like that only until tomorrow, but from then on we have to shift our focus forwards. Fortunately the relegation play-off exists and we still have a chance to avoid going down. A few years ago we would’ve been relegated after finishing in 16th place. Today we missed out on getting the job done, but we have to do better in the relegation play-off.
[oj]
VfL Wolfsburg suffered a big shock on the final matchday. A late 2-1 winner from Luca Waldschmidt gave Hamburger SV the victory, which forced the Wolves into the relegation play-off. Their opponents will be determined later on Sunday, as Eintracht Braunschweig, Hannover 96 and VfB Stuttgart are still fighting for the top three spots in the second division. In an interview with DFB.de, Germany international Mario Gomez spoke about the defeat in Hamburg and its consequences.
Question: Mr. Gomez, what are your thoughts following this nerve-wracking encounter.
Mario Gomez: I’m a bit speechless today. Football can be brutal. We have ourselves to blame for not scoring a second goal in the second half. We just tried to defend the result. Obviously it’s easy to say that with hindsight. During the game you look at how much time is left and know that the current result is enough to avoid relegation. Also, Hamburg didn’t give of the impression that they would make something happen.
Question: What exactly was the mistake your team made today?
Gomez: We didn’t really take advantage of the room that Hamburg offered to us because we just wanted to defend the 1-1. If all you're doing is reacting and not taking matters into your own hands, you are doing something wrong in football. Unfortunately that was the case today.
Question: What did your team have to do in order to create more pressure in the final third?
Gomez: We shouldn’t blame individual players for the performance today. Like I said: We failed to score the second goal as a team. If we had, we would’ve been ok.
Question: Your team has always said that they believe in their strength. However, they didn’t show that neither last weekend against Gladbach, nor here today.
Gomez: I disagree. In the first 30 minutes we showed a perfect away game performance. But we just couldn’t add to our lead, which is why we are finding ourselves near the bottom of the standings. The mental aspect plays a key role.
Question: How will you handle the mental pressure of the upcoming relegation play-off?
Gomez: We have to learn from this game here today. We can’t just defend a result anymore, we have to push and decide the game. I know that we are capable of this.
Question: Eintracht Braunschweig are your likely opponents in the relegation play-off. Do you know anything about them?
Gomez: Obviously I watch some games from the second division. In the end it doesn’t matter which team we have to play. It’s likely going to be Eintracht Braunschweig. There is no denying the fact that we are the better team. We have to prevail in two games and we will do it. Today’s game was the final evidence that nothing is being handed to us this season. We have to take matters into our own hands against Braunschweig and avoid playing too cautiously.
Question: In recent games you’ve received a lot of support from your fans. Roughly 6,000 supporters made the trip to Hamburg. Are you worried that the atmosphere will turn negative now after this game?
Gomez: No, but I can completely understand that the fans are disappointed today. I would be disappointed as a fan, if something like that happened to my team. I’m completely disappointed myself. But it’s not over; we are not relegated yet.
Question: What is the atmosphere like within the team?
Gomez: We are all down and disappointed. It’s fine if it stays like that only until tomorrow, but from then on we have to shift our focus forwards. Fortunately the relegation play-off exists and we still have a chance to avoid going down. A few years ago we would’ve been relegated after finishing in 16th place. Today we missed out on getting the job done, but we have to do better in the relegation play-off.
