VfL Wolfsburg kick off the new Bundesliga season with a home match against 1. FC Köln on Saturday 17 August (15:30 CEST). After seeing his side reach the second round of the DFB Cup with a 5-3 extra-time victory over Hallescher FC, VfL head coach Oliver Glasner will take his seat in the home dugout for the first time this weekend. At the press conference ahead of the game at the Volkswagen Arena, the 44-year-old Austrian spoke to the assembled media about…
…looking forward to the Bundesliga opener: “We look well-drilled now. I’m feeling very happy, and after last week’s DFB cup opener, I’m looking forward to starting the Bundesliga with a fantastic home game.”
…his team’s performance levels: “We’re a long way from playing the way we can because there are still a lot of things we haven’t mastered. That’s not possible in such a short space of time, though. I’m very happy with how we’re doing and with the efforts of the players in particular. It’s also very nice that almost all the players are fit and in very good shape. We’re on the right track, but we’re not quite where we want to be just yet.”
…Saturday’s opponents: “Köln will put us under pressure from the get-go and won’t need long to hit their stride. They’re physically very strong and won’t give us much time on the ball. They’re a handful in the penalty area with big, strong strikers. I’m expecting a very intense encounter in terms of the physical battle. We’ll have our hands full – which is a good thing – and we’ll do all we can to win the game. The cup game against Halle showed that we can only be successful if we play as a team.”
…the squad: “Paulo Otavio isn’t available as he’s only trained on his own these last two weeks. He’s doing better, but we don’t want to rush him back. We’d much rather give him time to get into shape. Wout Weghorst’s ankle is blue and swollen after picking up a heavy knock, but that shouldn’t be a problem for Saturday.”
