Amanatidis scored twice in Frankfurt?s surprise 3-2 win at Werder Bremen on match-day one. However, he had to be taken off at half-time. The Greek told bundesliga.de about his injury and the first goal this season as well as Eintracht?s goals while at the same time warning against premature euphoria.
bundesliga.de: Mr. Amanatidis, congratulations on the win in Bremen. What reasons were there for this success?
Ioannis Amanatidis: We had that crucial bit more kick in Bremen. But we should not overrate this now. If we do not confirm this performance against Nürnberg on Saturday, the win against Werder was not worth anything.
bundesliga.de: The team seems full of confidence. Is that a sign of the good work done under Michael Skibbe?
Ioannis Amanatidis: You can see that we have improved. Coach and team are doing everything right at the moment. Nevertheless, I have to warn against premature euphoria: We have played only a single Bundesliga games and will have to continue improving.
bundesliga.de: You have scored twice in that match. Did you expect such a perfect start to things?
Ioannis Amanatidis: In football, you can never expect to score twice in one half. Of course, I am happy that I could add two goals to our win. But I would have been happy as well if I had not scored.
bundesliga.de: How good does the team play work by now?
Ioannis Amanatidis: I have already said that we have improved in certain areas. Our team play is certainly one of those areas. In Bremen, you could clearly see that we have been working on improving our passing in pre-season. That was not looking too bad. But we have also made some mistakes. We still have lots of work ahead. We can not rest on that 3-2 win.
bundesliga.de: Unfortunately, you had to be substituted with an injury. How are you doing now and will you be sidelined?
Ioannis Amanatidis: I have now been to Poland with the Greek national team and I am feeling somewhat better. I suffered a bruise above the right kneecap. If the injury continues to get better the way it has so far, I am hoping to be fit to play against Nürnberg on Saturday.
bundesliga.de: Skibbe has promised more attractive football to the fans. Is such a statement additional motivation for an attacker?
Ioannis Amanatidis: My teammates and I are always motivated and we try to be as successful as possible in every match.
bundesliga.de: Due to injury you only played seven matches last season. How difficult is it to stay positive in such a situation and to support the team?
Ioannis Amanatidis: It is hard to watch from the stands when the team is losing a match. But it is not difficult to support the team off the pitch.
bundesliga.de: What are your personal goals for this season?
Amanatidis: I want to be spared further injuries, play as many games and score as many goals as possible.
bundesliga.de: And what about Eintracht?
Ioannis Amanatidis: We want to finish among the top nine teams in the league and have the intention to play a similar season like 2007/08, when we finished ninth.
bundesliga.de: Eintracht?s next opponent is 1. FC Nürnberg. They boosted a strong defence last season. Which is the best way for Eintracht to approach this game?
Ioannis Amanatidis: We have to show our great fans right from the beginning that we want to win that match no matter what. But we must not allow Nürnberg to hit us on the counter-attack. We have to remain alert.
