“We didn’t achieve our aim” | OneFootball

Board member for sport Markus Krösche, head coach Albert Riera and Mario Götze reflect on the 2-2 draw against Stuttgart.

Board member for sport Markus Krösche: “Taking the season as a whole, we’re disappointed. Before the start of the campaign, our stated aim was to qualify for Europe again. We didn’t manage that, but that wasn’t only down to the result today. Our reaction in the second half was good, but over the last few weeks and months we haven’t shown our quality on the pitch and we haven’t been stable enough. We’ve been too inconsistent. We have to digest this game and then we’ll analyse things.”

Head coach Albert Riera: “I want to thank the fans. They stuck with us until the very end in a difficult season, even though we didn’t manage to achieve our objective. They showed that they’re behind the team and the club. I accept the criticism and we have to press reset. We’re staying positive, doing our best and need to improve – for example by playing with greater tempo. I can promise that we will do and organise everything possible for the good of the group in order to win matches. That’s all that matters. This season was a step back, but now we’ll try to go forwards again. We’ll see over the coming days what happens next.”

Mario Götze: “We threw everything forward at the end, we played with energy and, despite being 2-0 down, nobody threw in the towel. It’s always special to play at home, especially so against a VfB Stuttgart side who also needed to win. We didn’t manage to play consistently well over the whole season, including the Champions League and everything. That’s something we have to hold ourselves accountable for. It’s a shame. Ultimately, it’s always about delivering performances and winning matches. The situation is not satisfactory for anyone. Everyone has to take a hard look at themselves, and we will analyse the issues.”