The three-day rhythm has begun for the FCH. After the well-deserved opening success in the Conference League, this Sunday we face Champions League participants RB Leipzig.
Looking ahead: Within just a few days, Frank Schmidt and his Heidenheimers are being challenged again. IMAGO/Eibner
Regenerate, partial training, and only one injured player, Mathias Honsak, Niklas Dorsch is suspended – otherwise the squad doesn’t change much compared to the game on Thursday evening. After a “cap of sleep,” the focus quickly shifted to Leipzig, said Heidenheim’s coach Frank Schmidt. “At the same time, after the game against Ljubljana (2:1, Anm. d. Red.) thinks about who could play from the start, also taking into account the style of play of the opponent,” says Schmidt. Leipzig will be a different caliber, they know that at FCH. But the game plan is good for the Heidenheimers, than playing at home again.
Although it will be a different game for Heidenheim, Schmidt has identified parallels between Ljubljana and Leipzig when it comes to the game system. Only the possession of the ball will shift. “We won’t have that much possession of the ball against Leipzig. With Lois Openda and Benjamin Sesko, Leipzig has outstanding strikers in its ranks, in combination perhaps even the best the Bundesliga has to offer,” says Schmidt, highlighting just two factors about this opponent , which has many possibilities.
“This is an opponent who will really challenge us,” says Schmidt. However, the intensity with which he expects the Leipzig team also offers space for his team. St. Pauli showed last week how they could get at RB. “If you defend well, if you defend aggressively, then you also get your opportunities, especially in the transition game. We will try to put in the top performance here at home in order to ideally take something away,” says Schmidt.
Schmidt provides information about Leipzig’s extremely bitter bankruptcy
Of course, the Leipzig team were also on the international stage and, after an actually good performance, had to unfortunately admit defeat 2-3 in the end. Schmidt watched the game. “It was extremely bitter for Leipzig to lose this game in the end. Nevertheless, you could also see in this game what extreme quality Leipzig have, especially on the offensive,” Heidenheim’s coach also took something from this game. He and his team would have to be prepared for that.
Rotation, a tool that Schmidt has only used marginally in recent years, is inevitably much more frequent and, above all, more pronounced and is an effective tool for the coach this season. But because the international break is coming up afterwards, each of his players has to “squeeze everything out” of themselves again against Leipzig. “But of course there will be a few changes again,” he announces, without naming names.
Heidenheim also took a lot from the Ljubljana game
The game against Ljubljana showed the Heidenheimers that things can quickly go wrong if you don’t close the proverbial bag in time. The FCH almost gave up a superior game, but in the end they prevailed 2-1. “In the first 30 minutes we lacked effectiveness and after that you saw that teams at this level simply have a certain quality,” Schmidt looks back on the European Cup premiere.
It was not without reason that Ljubljana had remained unbeaten 16 games previously. “You take something away from every game, also because we can give many players match practice. We haven’t had that before in this form. That’s something totally positive. It depends on everyone, everyone has to be ready, everyone has to be constantly demonstrate the necessary fitness,” says Schmidt happily. But none of this has been a problem up to this point, he says. After the international break, the number of games picked up again. But there is still a bit of time until then.
