Under Sascha Eickel, Borussia Mönchengladbach’s U23 team is doing well in the Regionalliga West. In an interview, he talks about upcoming opponents Rot-Weiß Oberhausen and his frustration with U teams.

Borussia Mönchengladbach’s U23 team started the Regionalliga West season with Eugen Polanski at the helm. Following his transfer to the Bundesliga team, Sascha Eickel took over. After an opening defeat in the derby against 1. FC Köln’s U23 team, Gladbach have not lost a game and have won their last four matches.

Now the Foals’ youngsters face a team with a similar track record, Rot-Weiß Oberhausen, who have since moved up to fifth place in the table.

Reason enough for Forecasting to talk to the actual sporting director of the U23 and U19 teams about the upcoming opponent, his time with the U23s, and second teams in general.

Sascha Eickel, after the initial defeat against 1. FC Köln, your team is doing extremely well. Have you and the team found your feet?

That’s the question, of course. The situation with the defeat at the beginning, especially against Köln, was obviously not ideal (laughs). Since then, we haven’t lost seven games and have won four times. I think the way the team is performing at the moment, we are definitely on the road to success.

I am aware of the discontent about second teams and can even understand it to a certain extent. But as long as there is no other solution, we will accept it as it is.

Sascha Eickel

Eugen Polanski, the former U23 coach, will remain with the Bundesliga team. What does that mean for you?

Yes, Eugen will remain head coach. We are currently clarifying internally how to proceed and are looking for solutions. As things stand at the moment, it is likely that the current constellation will remain unchanged until winter. We will then make personnel decisions during the winter break. However, it must always be said that something like this can of course also happen at short notice.

In Rot-Weiß Oberhausen, you’re facing a team that has recently had a similar run to you. What do you expect from your opponents?

RWO had a bumpy start, but then they stabilized extremely well and have now moved into the top third of the table. They are a very mature team that plays real men’s soccer, with one or two really good individual players. They have only conceded 17 goals, so they defend really well, but they also only have a goal difference of 19:17. We are really looking forward to the game. This year, there are even seven of them in the regional league. How do you feel about that as a second team?

For us, it’s important to be able to offer the highest possible league in order to train our young players in men’s soccer in the best possible way. To do this, it’s important to be able to play against men’s teams that also have experienced players who may have played at a higher level. Just playing against players of the same age is not enough. The mix is ideal for us, and the regional league is a big challenge. I am aware of the discontent about second teams and can even understand it to a certain extent. But as long as there is no other solution, we accept it as it is.