Volland: “We’re playing a different style of football”

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim have now won consecutive games for the first time this season. Their 3-1 victory over HSV yesterday has boosted their survival hopes. Kevin Volland played a key role in the game, grabbing the second goal and putting in an impressive individual performance. He spoke to DFB.de after the final whistle about the game, the relegation dogfight and the upcoming international break.

DFB.de: Mr. Volland, what did you make of the game?

Kevin Volland: It went well – we started the game strongly and made life tough for them early on. We let things slip a bit after we conceded but we stood firm and got the third at a crucial time. Oliver Baumann played a big part in the victory.

DFB.de: It was your first away win since September 2015. How important was it to break the drought?

Volland: Winning is always nice. It was great to do it on the road once again. It’s also nice to win consecutive games again as we have lacked real consistency of late.

DFB.de: You won the penalty – did you expect Rene Adler to be sent off?

Volland: Yes I did. I mean I know I took the ball out wide, but not far away from the goal. I think I’d have scored if I got around him – it was a clear goalscoring opportunity.

DFB.de: You took a penalty last weekend against Wolfsburg but missed – had you subsequently decided that Andrej Kramaric would be responsible for the next one?

Volland: I know he wanted the one last weekend too but I don’t think he’d realised that I converted two before Christmas. It was his turn yesterday, he buried it and he’ll therefore take the next one too.

DFB.de: You made it 2-0 via an indirect free kick. How spontaneous was the decision to knock the ball back to you?

Volland: It wasn’t planned. I saw that Rene Adler had left the far post a bit open so knew that if I put it there that a goal was possible. Obviously, there was still a decent amount of luck involved though.

DFB.de: Since Julian Nagelsmann took over things have improved drastically for TSG. Why is this?

Volland: We’re playing a different style of football – we’re more attacking. We’re working hard in training currently and if we continue to perform in this manner, then I think we’ll stay up.

DFB.de: You’re in the Germany squad for the friendlies against England and Italy. What are your thoughts ahead of these games?

Volland: They’ll be great games. I’m yet to face England at any level, so it will be nice to be involved. I’d like to think I’ve performed well in my recent appearances for the national team, so hopefully I get to play in these matches.

DFB.de: In order to boost your hopes of being in the squad for the European Championship?

Volland: Exactly. Obviously it’s important to be performing well domestically, but you also need to play well when selected for the national team. These games will be a good opportunity for myself and the team.