FC Schalke 04 vs. VfL Bochum: On Saturday evening (August 23, 8:30 p.m.), there will be a local derby in the 2nd Bundesliga. The anticipation is great at VfL.

After a 1-4 defeat at SV Darmstadt 98, a 2-0 win against SV Elversberg, and advancing in the DFB Cup against BFC Dynamo, VfL Bochum will travel to Gelsenkirchen on Saturday evening (August 23, 8:30 p.m.) for the derby against FC Schalke 04.

Ahead of the big match in the 2nd Bundesliga, we spoke to Bochum’s head coach Dieter Hecking.

Dieter Hecking on…

Ibrahima Sissoko’s injury: “The operation went well. He’ll be out for at least three months. But that’s football: you’re always going to have injuries that affect you. We have to compensate for that as a team. That’s our job.“

… their next opponents Schalke: ”I don’t think I need to watch the game against Leipzig. The matches against Hertha and Kaiserslautern are more meaningful. We need to take another look at those. I think the game against Hertha could be a good blueprint for how the game against us could go.“

… the criticism after the start of the season: ”Of course, we imagined a better start – especially with regard to the Darmstadt game. We want to and will improve. After Darmstadt, the dissatisfaction was palpable everywhere. That’s why I stood up for my players. Without looking for excuses, we know that we have a decent team for the 2nd division – but only if everyone is on board. If you look at the DFB Cup, there were certainly 12 or 13 places where people were dissatisfied. You saw in many stadiums that the difference between the underdog and the favorite is getting smaller and smaller. We also know that we have to play better at BFC, but at the end of the day, we’ve advanced to the next round, and that’s all that counts.“

… Friday evening at Schalke: ”It’s going to be an awesome game. If you’re not motivated for a game like that, then I don’t know what is. It’s only ten kilometers to Gelsenkirchen. Everyone who follows the clubs is looking forward to Saturday evening. We want to play our game and see if Schalke will let us.” with gp