Not only will it be your first game against Stuttgart, but it will also be your first professional match against a former club. What are your feelings about that?
Tiago: “That’s true. It’s completely normal for that to happen in football and I’m sure it’ll happen a lot more in my career, but I’ve not been in this situation before. I’m looking forward to it because I’ve still got a lot of friends in Stuttgart. But that’s only relevant before and after the game. During the 90 minutes I’ll do everything I can to help VfL get all three points.”
Looking at the table, it’s a fixture between two of the Bundesliga’s most in-form teams. What sort of game are you expecting?
Tiago: “I think it’ll be a great game. Stuttgart have started really well and are a lot higher up than they were last season when I was there. Having said that, we have the stronger team. If we can show what we’re capable of on the pitch then we can win there.”
Recently, on two occasions, VfL have lost the next game straight after winning. Why will that change on Saturday?
Tiago: “I think those defeats, like the one in Dortmund, were down to individual mistakes. Sometimes it’s just little things that can mean you lose on any given day. But we’re going to Stuttgart with the intention of stopping that pattern. We want to invest the self-confidence we gained from our last game in order to go on a new run.”