“The team’s really looking forward to this game,” said head coach Sebastian Hoeneß at his pre-match press conference ahead of the DFB Cup semi-final against RB Leipzig at the MHP Arena on Wednesday evening (kick-off 20:45 CEST).
“In the changing room, on the training pitch and in the conversations I have, I can tell that the boys are really raring to go for this game,” the tactician continued. “We’ve worked our way into the semi-finals and are now just a step away from Berlin.”
The team are hoping to take that step alongside their fans in front of a sold-out MHP Arena. “Their support is hugely important,” Hoeneß added. “We’ve experienced often enough the energy we can unleash in our stadium. That could be decisive in terms of swinging the game our way.” A floodlit knockout tie in the cup – anything can happen on evenings such as this, with matches often developing a very special type of atmosphere.
Change of coach
VfB will need momentum on their side against the 2022 and 2023 cup winners. Although Leipzig have slipped down to sixth place in the Bundesliga standings, they still have plenty of quality in their squad. Zsolt Löw is the new man in charge, having taken over from Marco Rose, who was dismissed on Sunday.
“It’s always a shame when a coaching colleague leaves,” said Hoeneß. “I like Marco Rose, but I also know Zsolt Löw from previous times together.”
Justin Diehl, Dan-Axel Zagadou, Anrie Chase, Nikolas Nartey and Luca Raimund (all injured) are unavailable for this semi-final.
