Lars Ricken: “We can fly to Turin with tailwind and optimism” | OneFootball

Lars Ricken on the ambitions for the new Champions League season:“Our objective is now to collect as many points as possible quickly so that we comfortably reach the round of 16. That is our initial goal. We have reached the quarter-finals six times over the course of the last 13 years. It is also not so long since we reached the final twice. Once we have gotten to the round of 16, past experience has shown that we should not rule anything out.”

…Juventus:“They are a big challenge. I am of course delighted that we're off to Turin; this was a classic from the 90s in the UEFA Cup and the Champions League – those were magical nights. The sense of excitement is still there. Playing in the Champions League again is not to be taken for granted after last season. We're delighted to be back on this stage and to show that we belong here. The Champions League is, of course, also a challenge. When I see how well Juventus are playing, they are one of the biggest challenges in European football right now. But we can also look forward to that.”

…the injured duo of Nico Schlotterbeck and Emre Can, who are travelling to Turin:“They've both been out for a few months now. I think that it will do the team good – but I also think it will do the players good to be with us, to travel with us, to support the players on the pitch. But there are practical reasons too. We now stay an extra day after the game and train on site. They will therefore take part in another team training session on site.”

…the personnel situation:“Emre Can is really on the road to recovery, for Fabio Silva we'll still need to have a bit of patience. Pascal Groß has an upset stomach, Aaron Anselmino won't be involved either – we don't want to take any risks. Otherwise, we have a really good squad. Niko also has the option of rotating the squad a little. It's a bit windy outside. I believe we can fly to Turin with the wind in our sails and optimism in our hearts because we've stabilised and brought consistency to our game. We've picked up 26 points in our last 10 Bundesliga games. We're really well prepared for an extremely strong Juventus team and are flying there full of excitement.”