Bundesliga side VfL Bochum face a difficult task – they go to FC Bayern Munich. Striker Philipp Hofmann hopes for a positive outcome.
VfL Bochum showed a strong fighting performance against Borussia Dortmund in the DFB Cup round of 16 on Wednesday evening, were even superior to the field at times, but still had to concede defeat after an intense 96 minutes with 1:2 (0:1).
Defensively, the VfL made crucial mistakes and lacked efficiency in front of the opponent’s goal. The next match for Bochum is already scheduled for Saturday afternoon (11 February, 3.30 p.m.) – then the Bundesliga leaders and record champions FC Bayern Munich will be on the road.
Coach Thomas Letsch’s team will then be hoping that top scorer Philipp Hofmann can score again. The 29-year-old has scored seven goals so far this season. Hofmann has good memories of the upcoming opponents. In 2012, he scored the winning goal for FC Schalke 04 in the A-Junioren-Bundesliga final to win 2-1 – against Bayern Munich.
RevierSport spoke to Philipp Hofmann (29) before the match:
It’s going to be tough, of course, but if we went there thinking we wouldn’t get anything anyway, then we’d be doing the wrong job.
Philipp Hofmann.
Philipp Hofmann, a quick review of the Dortmund game. You were on a par against a strong opponent and were unfortunate to be knocked out in the cup, but there’s not much time to process the defeat, is there?
The cup exit was very unfortunate. We played a good game, but the fact is that we didn’t progress. That was our goal. Nevertheless, we can take a lot of positive things with us and the fans also honoured our performance. But it’s over now, because we’re going to keep on hitting each other.
The intense game on deep ground took a lot of energy. How do you feel physically before you leave for Munich?
The pitch was very strange, I have to say that. The game was very energy-sapping. But that’s our job. We had a good regeneration unit. I hope that we can play our game again on Saturday.
You’re facing a rested Bayern, who have the ambition to win the Champions League. Is it an impossible task?
Sure, Bayern is a strong opponent and we are the underdogs. Nevertheless, we want to stand up to Bayern as best we can. It will be difficult, of course, but if we were to go there thinking that we wouldn’t win anything anyway, then we’d be doing the wrong job. We have self-confidence after the home win against Hoffenheim and want to try to take something from Munich.
Do you still think about the clear 0:7 first leg defeat against Bayern and what do you have to show to avoid such a defeat?
For me personally, I still remember that game because it was my first game as a professional against Bayern. We had a different coach then and things were generally not going well at that stage. That’s why this game is out of our minds – and it has to be. I hope we can hold out for a long time and play a good game. We’ll see what comes out in the end.
