“We only have one aim, to stay in the Bundesliga. And we will.”

By: otto | December 28th, 2008

Borussia Sport Director Max Eberl when interviewed by the Bundesliga web-site said of the clubs goals:

“We only have one aim, to stay in the Bundesliga. And we will.”

Borussia have taken four new players under contract. Are the personnel requirements for the back end of the season now fulfilled?

Sport Director Max Eberl: Yes, we’ve done what we set out to do. It became very clear in the first half of the season where our problems lie, also in part due to injuries. We’ve reacted accordingly.

It’s notable that only defensive players have been brought in; a goalkeeper, a full-back, a central defender and a holding midfielder. That’s a clear indication as to the root of the problem.

Sport Director Max Eberl: It’s no secret that we’ve been making too many mistakes at the back. 35 goals against in 17 games is simply far too many. The defensive order was fundamentally flawed, in part because of the massive injury problems we had in that area in particular. It’s tough for us to cope with the loss of four defenders at the same time. And as we don’t know precisely when we can count on Thomas Kleine or Jean-Sébastien Jaurès again, or how long it will take Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker to return to form after his long lay-off, we had to do something.

Starting with the goalkeeper then – why was Logan Bailly brought in?

Sport Director Max Eberl: We used three different keepers in the first season half. That indicates we weren’t 100 percent satisified with the situation. A team struggling for form needs to have the feeling there’s someone at the back who’s not afraid to go in where it hurts and who’s capable of pulling off something really special when it most counts. We’d had our eye on Logan Bailly for a while. He came to the attention of our scouts; goalkeeping coach Uwe Kamps and our former keeper Uli Sude both watched him on several occasions and were impressed. He’s still young for a goalie, but very ambitious, and he has a big onfield presence.

Paul Stalteri was deployed as a defensive wide-man both at Werder Bremen and in England. Where will he be fitted in here?

Sport Director Max Eberl: That’s up to the coach. Paul’s actually more of a right-sided defender but he can play on the left as well. He’s a very positive character and that attitude will help us. On top of that, he’s got seven years Bundesliga experience from his time at Bremen. As far as battling against relegation is concerned, he’s done that at Fulham – and survived.

The Brazilian, Dante, has been playing at left-back for Standard Liege this season. But Borussia have him earmarked for the central defence.

Sport Director Max Eberl: That’s where he sees himself and that’s where we see him too. He played for years in that position and only switched over to the left this season because Standard had problems there. A few weeks ago, I wouldn’t have given us a hope of getting him. I know there are clubs in the top third of the table who had their eye on him for next season, but he wanted to move straight away for personal reasons, even though Standard recently extended his contract through to 2011.

Brazilians often have some difficulty acclimatising. Could that be the case with him?

Sport Director Max Eberl: I don’t think so. He’s been playing in Europe for five years, in France and Belgium. He speaks English and fluent French, which shows he’s made the effort to fit in at the clubs he’s played for. In the talks we had with him, he came across very well. He knows what he wants.

The tabloids have already labeled Tomáš Galásek a “football grandad”.

Sport Director Max Eberl: Let’s see if they’re still saying that after he’s played a few games for us. Tomáš was a leader at every club he’s played for. He has the sort of game and tactical awareness that makes other players better and more effective, without hogging the limelight himself. And he’s top fit, having played the full 90 minutes of every game for Banik Ostrava this season.

Borussia have signed four defensive players and none for the attack, although things have not always been going smoothly up front either. Why has that department not been strengthened too?

Sport Director Max Eberl: Our problem so far has been a lack of balance. Once we’re more compact and making fewer mistakes at the back, young players like Marko Marin, Alex Baumjohann, Karim Matmour and Michael Bradley will automatically become more effective. We have enough creative quality in the side, we just need to deploy it sensibly. Up front we’re satisified with Rob Friend, we have faith in Roberto Colautti, who finally managed a few weeks injury-free, and we’re relying on Oliver Neuville, who’ll be back from injury to help the team out.

What will be the main focus of preparations for the restart?

Sport Director Max Eberl: I’ve been party to a few periods of preparation under Hans Meyer and I know he’ll use the time for team-building. He values structure and good organization and he’ll be able to work on those aspects in his own time throughout January. Everyone will need to be pulling in the same direction from the January 3rd training restart onwards. That’s when we’ll be building a framework to go into the second half of the campaign with.

Will any more players be leaving the club?

Sport Director Max Eberl: We’ve held some talks and made the situation clear to the players. Everyone has been given their chance and now everyone knows where they stand.