At DFB Cup opponents VfL Bochum, Arminia Bielefeld coach Michel Kniat feels reminded of third division football – in a positive way.
After the huge upheaval with several arrivals and departures, Arminia Bielefeld still has a lot to find. Coach Michel Kniat, who is also new, hardly has time to do that. On Saturday, DSC will play in the third competition within a week. VfL Bochum comes to the Alm for the first round of the DFB Cup (6 p.m., RS live ticker).
While the Bundesliga team is about to play its first match of the season, the Bielefeld team has already played two games. First there was the 1:3 defeat against Dynamo Dresden in the 3rd league, then the 2:0 victory against SG FA Herringhausen-Eickum in the Westphalia Cup.
And now it’s time for the cup clash with VfL – which Arminia are entering “full of anticipation for the first home game and a beautiful backdrop”, as Kniat emphasised at the press conference beforehand.
Good for the coach, who moved to Bielefeld this summer from SC Verl: With the exception of Tom Geerkens, he can probably draw on his entire squad. “It’s looking pretty good,” says Kniat about the personnel situation.
Just two years ago, Bochum and Arminia were fighting together to stay in the Bundesliga. The VfL was successful, the Ostwestfalen were not: they were relegated and were pushed through the following year.
In the meantime, the situation has changed in such a way that Bielefeld are the clear underdogs. After all, a third-division team is meeting a first-division team. Kniat thinks that VfL’s style of play is very similar to the football played in the 3rd division. “Bochum often choose the long option with the ball, which they then do really well. They are good in the duels and with the second balls. Against the ball, they are very good at man-advantage,” he explains.
But Kniat adds that his assessment is by no means meant in a disrespectful way. “Because they do it very, very well and have deservedly kept the class.” Especially as the 37-year-old knows: “Of course they do it with a different quality, because they are all Bundesliga players. “