One thing brings with it almost every coaching change: every player starts at zero, can recommend and hope for more playing time. Julian Niehues can currently sing a song. It is not the case that the 21 -year -old midfielder under Marco Antwerp was not in demand. But of his 17 missions in the past third division round, he only collected two nominations for the starting eleven. The third followed against Dresden in the first relegation game on Friday evening. Dirk Schuster had a specific plan with him.
“Julian had the task of keeping contact with the chain of four,” said Schuster after the 0-0 on the Betzenberg. Unlike predecessor Antwerp, the new coach again rely on a chain of four in the defense. Two more or less defensive midfielder on the six completed the rear network. One was never, the other Marlon Ritter. The fact that the fine technician knights in the ball again and again in the game and caused important accents there was also no earnings. He kept his back to his next man.
size as an advantage
“He made a bomb job as a vacuum cleaner before the defense,” Schuster praised his 1.95 meter tall player, who had moved to the Palatinate before the season of Borussia Mönchengladbach II. This size was one of the decisive reasons for Schuster’s decision. “I have to honestly say: Before the standard situations and the flanks of the Dresdeners, we had a bit of abdominal jokes before the game because we did not see ourselves so well with the number of players with this physicality,” the 54-year-old confessed. “Of course it helped us that Julian stood on the pitch and knocked a lot away.”
Admittedly, it was very difficult in the extremely tough game in a playful way to really put yourself in the limelight as an offensive player. However, for the actors with a focus on the game against the ball. Niehues took the opportunity for himself until the grains went out after a little more than an hour. “Then you saw that he didn’t play so many games. But he did it very well. It was the plan that he took Patrick Weihrauch out of the game and I can act with Mike Wunderlich. I’m very satisfied With him, “also had beneficial words ready for his teammate.
Ciftci and Hercher again options
If Niehues coped physically well and regenerated in good time since the beginning of the year, he will have good tickets in Dresden in the all -crucial second leg next Tuesday for a renewed starting elomination. But the team -internal competition could grow bigger. At least Schuster still hopes to have the short-term failed hikmet Ciftci (gastrointestinal complaints) with them again.
The trainer was even more optimistic with a view to a possible use of right -back Philipp Hercher, who had suffered a muscular injury a week ago in an internal test game. “It was a precaution. An operation today would probably have come too early, we might have broken something. We didn’t want that. I am in good spirits that he was available,” explained Schuster.
