The RheinEnergieStadion is a special place for Mitchell Weiser. It’s where he made his Bundesliga debut as a 17-year-old playing for 1. FC Köln. Exactly four years and one day later, Weiser returned to the stadium, but this time wearing the colours of Hertha BSC. It was a successful return as Hertha claimed a 1-0 victory through Vedad Ibisevic’s goal in the first half, establishing their third-place standing. Weiser was one of the most active players on the pitch, running more than 12km and winning 56 percent of his challenges.
In this interview with DFB.de, the 21-year-old spoke about the reasons for Hertha’s first victory in 2016, his feelings during his return to Cologne and a bet with 1. FC Köln’s Yannick Gerhardt, his team mate from the U21 national team.
Question: How important was this victory?
Mitchell Weiser: Extremely important. I’m very happy and proud of the team. We all fought for one another worked extremely hard. This win is simply good for us.
Question: Your team controlled long spells of the game, do you agree?
Weiser: I thought we were very dominant in the first half. In the second half we allowed them to push us back a bit too much. Köln tried to make something happen with long balls forward. It’s not easy to defend against, as sometimes they can get lucky. I’m glad nothing came of it.
Question: Are you offended, when you hear people saying that Hertha are playing a nasty brand of football at the moment?
Weiser: We showed in the first half that we can control the game, as we had a lot of possession. I’m not quite sure about the exact percentages, but it felt like a lot. From the 60th minute onwards we allowed Köln back into the game. They started to operate with a lot of long balls forward, which is not easy to defend and something unexpected can always result from that. But we pulled it off well.
Question: Were your relatives in the stadium?
Weiser: Yes, my mother and my brother were here tonight as well as a lot of my friends.
Question: What was the return to Cologne like for you?
Weiser: It was very nice. I know a lot of people here and being able to return to Cologne and play here again after three years was a lot of fun. I was really looking forward to it.
Question: Did you recognise any jeers against you from the crowd?
Weiser: Only when I was taking corners, but I didn’t think they were that loud.
Question: You made a bet with Yannick Gerhardt on who would score more goals this season. When will you overtake him? (editors note: Gerhardt currently leads 2-1)
Weiser: Soon hopefully (laughs). But I can’t say exactly when. The bet isn’t that important to me, as long as we win our games.
[mmc/fr]
The RheinEnergieStadion is a special place for Mitchell Weiser. It’s where he made his Bundesliga debut as a 17-year-old playing for 1. FC Köln. Exactly four years and one day later, Weiser returned to the stadium, but this time wearing the colours of Hertha BSC. It was a successful return as Hertha claimed a 1-0 victory through Vedad Ibisevic’s goal in the first half, establishing their third-place standing. Weiser was one of the most active players on the pitch, running more than 12km and winning 56 percent of his challenges.
In this interview with DFB.de, the 21-year-old spoke about the reasons for Hertha’s first victory in 2016, his feelings during his return to Cologne and a bet with 1. FC Köln’s Yannick Gerhardt, his team mate from the U21 national team.
Question: How important was this victory?
Mitchell Weiser: Extremely important. I’m very happy and proud of the team. We all fought for one another worked extremely hard. This win is simply good for us.
Question: Your team controlled long spells of the game, do you agree?
Weiser: I thought we were very dominant in the first half. In the second half we allowed them to push us back a bit too much. Köln tried to make something happen with long balls forward. It’s not easy to defend against, as sometimes they can get lucky. I’m glad nothing came of it.
Question: Are you offended, when you hear people saying that Hertha are playing a nasty brand of football at the moment?
Weiser: We showed in the first half that we can control the game, as we had a lot of possession. I’m not quite sure about the exact percentages, but it felt like a lot. From the 60th minute onwards we allowed Köln back into the game. They started to operate with a lot of long balls forward, which is not easy to defend and something unexpected can always result from that. But we pulled it off well.
Question: Were your relatives in the stadium?
Weiser: Yes, my mother and my brother were here tonight as well as a lot of my friends.
Question: What was the return to Cologne like for you?
Weiser: It was very nice. I know a lot of people here and being able to return to Cologne and play here again after three years was a lot of fun. I was really looking forward to it.
Question: Did you recognise any jeers against you from the crowd?
Weiser: Only when I was taking corners, but I didn’t think they were that loud.
Question: You made a bet with Yannick Gerhardt on who would score more goals this season. When will you overtake him? (editors note: Gerhardt currently leads 2-1)
Weiser: Soon hopefully (laughs). But I can’t say exactly when. The bet isn’t that important to me, as long as we win our games.
