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Miron Muslic: I’m extremely proud of the team
In his first competitive game in charge of FC Schalke 04, Miron Muslic recorded his first victory on Friday night (1/8) against Hertha BSC. Following the 2-1 win to start the season, the 42-year-old discussed the game together with Hertha coach Stefan Leitl at the post-match press conference. Timo Becker and Christopher Antwi-Adjei also spoke to the media.
Miron Muslic:
I’m extremely proud of the team. We were able to put a number of things into practice that we had worked on during pre-season. We forced Hertha to play the way we wanted them to, played vertically and put them under pressure with our physicality and challenges. The fans could see that we were up for the game. We got our goals at the right moments in an excellent first-half performance. Hertha were a different side after the break after changing their tactics. Our defensive structure was solid until almost the final whistle. We kept them really quiet from open play. The fact that we defended their individual quality and pace so well and deservedly won makes me really happy.
Stefan Leitl:
Congratulations to Schalke and Miron on the win. I’m disappointed by our performance. We didn’t do what we’d set out to in the first half, particularly in the first 20 minutes. Schalke kept winning second balls and we didn’t find a way of dealing with the pressure they were putting us under. Our defending for their first goal wasn’t great from a tactical point of view and we could have defended their second from a set piece better as well. Schalke were the dominant side in the first half, so we had to regroup at the break. We improved in every regard after that, but our goal unfortunately came too late on and we ultimately deserved to lose.
Timo Becker:
It’s a good thing the roof wasn’t closed tonight because with all that noise and passion I think it would have blown away otherwise. The support from the fans all game long was amazing. That’s exactly why I came back. I can hardly put my feelings into words right now. We worked really hard on our DNA during pre-season. We were aggressive, played at a high intensity and didn’t shirk a single tackle. Hertha struggled to deal with us in the first half in particular. We fought until the final whistle and got stuck in all game. It was a solid team performance.
Christopher Antwi-Adjei:
We played with lots of energy and put the things we’d been working on into the practice, especially in the first half. We had worked really hard ahead of tonight over the past six weeks, so I’m not surprised by our performance. It was only close at the end but we dealt with this period of pressure together as a team. Everyone knows what their job is within the squad. Miron Muslic set us up brilliantly. The fans’ support was incredible – they were behind us all game and drove us forwards. I think Hertha could sense that too.
