FC St. Pauli

Alexander Blessin on…

...the preparations for the game: “We’ve had a good week in training and we’re really looking forward to it. We know exactly what we’re up against. In recent weeks we’ve shown we can perform well against top sides. On Saturday we’ll give it our best shot and see what we can do to bother Bayern.”

...the recipe for success against Bayern: “We aim to go to the limit over 90 minutes and will need a bit of luck. You can’t keep Bayern away from your goal over 90 minutes, as we saw in the Champions League. It’s impossible. We need to work well as a collective off the ball and be alert in every situation in order to take clear decisions. We’ll try to keep the game open for as long as possible and keep probing up front.”

...potential opposition weaknesses: “When they do lose possession, their defensive line is very high. Clearly, we don’t want to play the ball into their forward defending. We’ll have to see how we avoid that. I hope we can find some good solutions. We must be prepared to give our all and be ugly in the tackle. We want to make life difficult for them. The longer it stays nil-nil, the better. That said, we won’t be in awe of them. We want to take our opportunities and counter their individual quality with our team spirit.”

...the absence of goals at home: “We’ve never talked about it in the group. We’ve scored a few away from home and that’s done us good. We’re obviously desperate to score our first goal at home, but it’s not as if we talk about it constantly. I’m absolutely convinced the goal will come.”

...the injuries to Philipp Treu and Connor Metcalfe: “Philipp will hopefully return against Gladbach, but he’s ruled out this weekend. It’s difficult with Connor. He’s making some progress again but still feeling pain with certain loadings and will have to ease his way back in. I can’t say how long that will take. It’s infuriating, of course, because he’d a tremendous help to us with his quality.”

…the atmosphere at the Millerntor: “I know the ground from my time as a player. It was a bit smaller back then. The Bundesliga can be glad to welcome St. Pauli, as we’ve seen in the last few home games. It makes me incredibly proud to be able to welcome Bayern Munich in front of a full house. And the fact that we’ve had so many away fans with us at every away game makes me even prouder. It’s fabulous. I take my hat off to the fans “

…not being under so much pressure as outsiders: “You have nothing to lose when you go into a game like this as clear outsiders, which we means there’s no pressure at the weekend. That’s why winning the last game at Hoffenheim was important to take the pressure off. I’m not saying the lads should go into the game and enjoy it. It won’t be a game to be enjoyed. We have to go to the limit. It’s a genuine highlight. I hope we’ll be able to look in the mirror afterwards and say we did everything we could.”

Photos: FC St. Pauli