Kasper Hjulmand speaks on why Bayer Leverkusen can’t seem to win matches, praises rising prospect Montrell Culbreath (18) in great depth | OneFootball

Bayer Leverkusen head coach Kasper Hjulmand answered several questions about German-American attacker Montrell Culbreath, in both English and German, during Saturday afternoon’s Bundesliga post-match press conference. Hjulmand found himself alone at the podium at the BayArena on Saturday. Counterpart Vincent Kompany – after registering some discontent with the refereeing – was already on his way back to Munich. 

Hjulmand on why Leverkusen can’t seem to win matches

Germany’s red company team have exhibited signs of improvement over the past few weeks, but still haven’t been able to best their opponents. Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Bayern constituted the third straight draw on-the-spin for Hjulmand’s side. Leverkusen drew Freiburg in the league last weekend, split the difference with Arsenal midweek, and have now shared the spoils with the German record champions. 

Prior to the narrow Bundesliga win over Hamburger SV at the beginning of the month, Leverkusen also drew Olympiacos and Mainz after dropping a league fixture against Union Berlin. Hjulmand – a bit on the agitated side – gesticulated wildly as he gave his opening statement and answered the first few questions.

“We played well man-for-man and didn’t concede much,” Hjulmand began in his opening statement. “We [Jonas Hofmann] even scored the winning goal before it was ruled a few centimeters offside. I think, as a coach, I must say we performed well. We defended well and played with passion and power. We kept our structure and played a good game.“

“We also played well against Arsenal,” Hjulmand noted as the questions about the record began pouring in. “We did so much right. We just can’t score the goals. So it goes in football. For me, structure is the most important thing in football. That’s the top priority. Get that right, and then you can play with passion, power, and personality,

“We do need to work on our pressing, our compactness, and our transition game,” Hjulmand continued. “But we have made progress in recent weeks. Sometimes we don’t get the spaces properly sorted. We have the opportunities, but [as was the case with the offside goal], we need a few more nanoseconds of patience in our transition game.“

Hjulmand answers questions on Montrell Culbreath

The former Kaiserslautern academy man – selected earlier this autumn for Hjulmands Champions League squad – continues to earn more Bundesliga minutes. The 18-year-old scorer of a Bundesliga goal just prior to the winter break has now featured in Leverkusen’s last three league fixtures, starting on two occasions. This time, Culbreath shared an attacking axis with his fellow German-American Malik Tillmann.

Hjulmand spoke extensively on the young talent in both English and German.

“He’s really made excellent progress in the past month,” Hjulmand began in German. “He’s got the basics down. He does it all. He’s always ready. He never checks out of the game. He always shows the right reaction and makes the right decisions. He’s always there. He’s done well in training. He’s naturally a ten, but we’ve been working on his defending in training. He played a top match today. Many thanks to our academy trainers. We’ve got a player with great potential.”

“It’s easier for me to answer in English,” Hjulmand said when a reporter asked him to elaborate on what he meant by the ‘right decisions‘. “When one looks at a player, one must first-and-foremost look at the personality shown in training sessions. He never drops out. He’s always paying attention. He’s not afraid to engage with players physically.

“He has a great technique with both his left and right foot,” Hjulmand continued. “He has a very good finish with both his left and right foot, but the most important thing is his personality. He’s never out of the game. He’s always active. He never switches off. He’s always alert and in the game both offensively and defensively. He’s the complete package. 

“The step from academy football [to the professional level] is a very big difference and he adapts very quickly,” Hjulmand concluded. “It all comes down to his personality. He’s very aware. He always connects to the game.“

When Philipp Ahrens from the Bild Zeitung brought up the fact that Culbreath was playing for the Leverkusen U19s against Lennart Karl and the Bayern U19s last year, it was time to switch back to German. Would Culbreath – who has represented both Germany and the United States at youth level – potentially be a candidate for Germany?

“That’s not my decision,” Hjulmand answered in German. “[Bundestrainer] Julian [Nagelsmann] does that. I just want to say that we have a really good player from our academy. That’s great for us as a team and a club. That’s great. He’s super.“

GGFN | Peter Weis