Christian Heidel: competition for places is healthy

Christian Heidel on…

… the league table:
Everyone in the stadium saw the league table after the win against HSV, but no team ever secured their position as second in the table after only 12 matchdays. It’s nice to have 23 points racked up already. It gives us momentum and I would be lying if I said our current position in the league doesn’t conjure up a nice feeling. We’re pleased with the good run and that we’ve only conceded one goal in our recent games. That’s extraordinary and shows our strengths. We aren’t scoring six or seven goals up top, but we’ve constantly been very strong at the back.

… injuries:
We’ve always said we’re convinced of the quality of the team, so it would be strange if I was now surprised that the team can compensate for those out injured. All the same, I’m not saying that our injured players aren’t important. We might be playing even better with them in the team. In any case, we want them back as soon as possible. Leon Goretzka will most likely be the first back.

… the squad:
There was criticism from some parties that we had too small a squad going into this season. We feel as if we’ve made the correct decisions. Five league games remain before the winter break; then we’ll see whether we need to make changes or not. Everyone in the squad has a chance of playing each match. No one can afford not to perform in training because then the head coach will react accordingly. It’s the best-case scenario because Domenico picks the team based on who’s performed well during the week. The competition for places is healthy and important. That’s where our quality comes from.

… Franco Di Santo:
I’ve never been critical of him. Of course, he hadn’t scored in a while, and as a striker that’s hard, but you also need to look at his performances. Our head coach takes everything into account – he wants to see a strong, united team on the pitch. Franco plays an important part in that. I’m happy for him that he scored the penalty. He then picked up a minor illness, but we all hope he recovers quickly.

… Benjamin Stambouli:
I haven’t seen the statistics, but Benjamin was a real defensive rock against HSV. He had a few problems at the beginning of the season and struggled to show his quality, but since then he’s been performing at the highest level.

… the Revierderby:
I can’t say whether it’s an advantage to go into the derby in second place. In Dortmund they’ll be saying, “Let’s show them now”, so in that itself, we’ve achieved something. I’m not thinking too much about the two clubs’ current league rankings. We’ll prepare for this game like any other, regardless of whether BVB are in good form or not. The head coach will analyse the opponent, watch them in the Champions League, and then establish a plan. Hopefully it’s a successful one.