Be bold and full of ideas

Domenico Tedesco had some good news to bring on Monday (18/09) at his press conference, stating that all the players had returned from the Weser injury free. “It is only Alessandro Schöpf that will not be available for the next game,” said the Schalke head coach. The Austrian sat out the clash in Bremen due to a back problem.

When they come up against Bayern, Schalke can expect not only a team that has won five Bundesliga titles on the bounce, but also one that are the clear favourites to keep up that streak this year as well. The fact that Bayern lost their last match away from home against 1899 Hoffenheim will not affect the way in which the team approach the game. “It is not as if Bayern did not create any chances in that game,” said Tedesco. Quite the opposite, according to the head coach: “They missed a lot of clear-cut opportunities, whereas Hoffenheim took the lead with their very first chance.”

Tedesco was nevertheless able to make note of some useful points from Bayern’s loss to Hoffenheim, “but we will not play as a carbon copy of TSG’s system. We have a different squad and therefore have other ideas and ways of working.” It will certainly be about making sure that the record champions’ quick wide players have as little impact on the game as possible. “Bayern do a lot of things really well. Regardless of the system, whether it be 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1, they always get into good positions down the middle and then look to play it to the wings,” explained Tedesco. “The way they play out wide is from our point of view their biggest strength. They play there with an extremely high tempo. We will need to defend well against their tactics there and take control. If we can successfully do that, then we will have created a good foundation to work from.”

Tedesco also believes it is important that the Royal Blues do not just defend well, but also look to get forward in front of their own fans. “If you are bold, keep possession and look to exploit the space, only then do you actually have a chance against Bayern but you definitely need to have a good day at the office.”
The fact that a win would put Schalke at the top of the table for at least 24 hours is of no significance to Tedesco whatsoever. “Looking at the table is only a distraction,” he stressed. “If we were to go into this game with the aim of being top of the league, we’d be at risk of forgetting many important small steps that you need to be successful. That’s why we are concentrating fully on the task ahead.”

As far as support is concerned, the 32-year-old can expect his side to have the backing of their ‘twelfth man’. “You are certainly going to run into danger against Bayern if you sit back and are passive. We need to avoid that. In situations like that, we hope our fans will shout and cheer so that we feel a certain pressure on the pitch.”