“We want to show who’s boss” | OneFootball

Head coach Dino Toppmöller is going for maximum points in what he is expecting to be an intensive game against Mainz.

Head coach Dino Toppmöller on ...

… team news: “Apart from Oscar Højlund and Can Uzun, we have everyone on board, thankfully. Elias Baum has returned to training, and Jessic Ngankam has been back in training for a while.”

… Eintracht’s approach: “Each team has their own characteristics and style of play. Mainz are obviously different to Napoli, so our approach will also be different. Mainz have a very intensive style. They have a lot of quality in winning second balls and they can link up well and in a very eye-catching way in the opposition half. It’ll be a tough task. Mainz will put us under pressure early on and try to stress us. We’re really looking forward to the game. The boys made a very good impression in training on Saturday and they’re all really  up for it. We’ll need to play with a certain aggression and intensity. If we do that then we’ll have chances to hurt Mainz.” 

… his expectations of the Rhine-Main rivalry: “Historically this fixture has always been a fiery occasion, which is good. That’s the way it should be. We want to show who’s boss in front of our fans. In terms of bite, intensity and defensive mentality, we’ve been on the right track in recent games. We need to keep that up and do everything we can to keep the three points here. If we can do that then we’ll put ourselves in a good position for the final stretch before Christmas.”

… Jonathan Burkardt: “Anyone who’s followed Jonny over the last few years knows that it’s not just his former team-mates who’ll be afraid of him – every defence in the league is wary of him. Mainz know all about Jonny’s quality but he also knows the qualities of their defenders. It’ll certainly be special for him to go up against his former colleagues for the first time. He was very focused in training and scored a lot of goals.”

… Nathaniel Brown: “We’ve got a few good examples of young players in our team - like Nnamdi Collins or Hugo Larsson - who have really come into their own at a young age. In Nene’s case, it’s been a steady overall development that culminated in his call-up and first cap for the senior national team. That’s a clear sign of his rapid rise. His big advantage is that he approaches every game with youthful fearlessness; that’s one of his biggest strengths, alongside the technical side of things. Even when we’ve taken some hits in recent weeks, he hasn’t let it get to him. He’s been a really positive example of believing in our strengths and qualities.”