Hinti, the Bundesliga resumes on Saturday. How much are you looking forward to it?
“Massively! It’s really important. We’re all happy that there’s something at stake again after two months of training without competitive action. There are three important points on the line. At the same time we’re all very anxious to see how things go at the weekend because it’s a new situation for all of us. But we’re prepared for it, will take things as they are and will hopefully leave the stadium with three points.”
To what extent is a game against your former club Gladbach an extra special occasion?
“It’s always special. I’ve already scored two or three goals against them. Maybe I’ll get another one at the weekend, that would be nice. The time has come to score goals again and I’m ready. At the end of the day, though, the most important thing is to win three points. That would be a great start going into the remainder of the season.”
Gladbach are up near the top of the table. What are their strengths?
“Gladbach are really strong and in my opinion they’re still title candidates. They’ll be aiming to qualify for the Champions League. They’ll do everything they can to achieve that, so will be playing to win in Frankfurt. But we’re ready, in good spirits and most of our players are fit. I’m expecting a tough but winnable game. We want to win on home turf.”
Today’s training session was short but intense. What level do you think the team is at just a few days before your first match?
“We’ve trained very hard in the last few weeks, we did a lot of running and a lot of physical conditioning. You can see that in every session, even if they are short and intense. Everyone wants to play and leave the long periods of training behind them. We’re all raring to go.”
