19 goals conceded make VfL Bochum a crisis club and the league’s shooting gallery. Now of all times we’re going to Leipzig – things have never looked good there.
As expectations rise, the height of the fall also changes. In that regard, VfL Bochum has just hit hard. Having competed at the start of the season to reach the next level in terms of sport, the club currently finds itself in a relegation zone. Six games, only three points, but a whopping 19 goals conceded – that was the sobering result at the beginning of October. The league’s shooting gallery is currently in Bochum.
In late summer, those responsible were still full of anticipation and self-confidence. “Come to stay” – this was the motto under which the team wanted to tackle the season boldly, both sportily and economically. “We have overcome the biggest hurdle by reaching the third year of the Bundesliga. VfL now has a historic opportunity,” Ilja Kaenzig, management spokesman, announced a controlled offensive in an interview with t-online.
Bochum put more money into the professional squad, invested in transfer fees again after a long time and gave Thomas Letsch a completely revamped team. The coach’s task was formulated as clear as it was optimistic: to further develop the football philosophy and reach the next level through play. “The toolbox is basically enlarged. I can’t always just use the simplest means in the Bundesliga. If you’re still just playing diamonds in the fifth Bundesliga year, you don’t have to be surprised if you don’t find any solutions,” said Ilja Kaenzig, formulating the claim of the club.
Regression instead of further development – what is going on at VfL?
But instead of further development, VfL experienced a significant regression just a few weeks later. In the 0:7 debacle in Munich, but especially in the 1:3 home defeat against Gladbach – for Letsch simply “a catastrophe” – the team delivered a bad result and a bad game. Even among those responsible there is a certain perplexity about what is currently happening in Bochum. After all, there had already been respectable games against BVB and Frankfurt. “The discrepancy in performance in such a short time is astonishing,” admits sports director Patrick Fabian.
In any case, it shouldn’t be due to the attitude of the professionals or their willingness. “The intensity in training was there, which is why the performance against Gladbach was all the more surprising,” says Fabian. The coach underlines this impression: “There was no lack of intensity and willingness in the training weeks or in the game. We run a lot and bring a lot of intensity to the pitch.”
But what’s the point then? Isn’t switching to a three-man defense and moving away from the previously successful 4-3-3 order the right approach? A topic that annoys Letsch and at which he shakes his head vehemently: “It has nothing to do with the system at all,” he made it clear after the 5-0 opening defeat in Stuttgart.
Letsch finds clear words
Tactically, however, the question arises as to whether the opponent’s generally high pressing and early starts are good for the team. Gladbach had 27 shots on goal on a foreign pitch. Is VfL taking too much risk? For the coach it’s a question of implementation: “Against Gladbach we didn’t win the decisive duels. Then the second player was missing to provide support. We didn’t keep the field compact and had to run after it. If we won the balls, we got them were given away too quickly and were not sorted.”
With a view to the game at RB Leipzig this Saturday, Thomas Letsch announced that he would “adapt” the style of play and make some personnel changes. The South German clearly formulated the requirements profile in his own way: “We have to find the players who don’t give a shit.” Courage, conviction and a certain amount of defiance are required – and a look at the statistics shows why. In five guest appearances in Leipzig so far, Bochum have suffered five defeats, scoring exactly one goal but conceding 16 goals. On average, just as many as currently in the Bundesliga.
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