Bochum pessimists refer to the defeats in Leverkusen and Mainz. Optimists are looking at four home wins in a row. VfL trainer Thomas Letsch belongs to the latter faction – and would like to further increase his success rate.
Will continue to stay with a 100 percent quota in home games: Bochum coach Thomas Letsch.
IMAGO/Sven Simon
When Thomas Letsch was on the sidelines for the first time as coach of VfL Bochum at the beginning of October 2022, the situation did not look exactly rosy: With just one point from the first seven games, his team was at the bottom of the table and threatened to march straight towards relegation. Four months later, VfL is on the relegation rank and has made the connection to the top places – thanks to five wins under Letsch (with six defeats).
Before the home game against the troubled TSG from Hoffenheim, there is also a different view of the current situation: After two away defeats in a row (0:2 in Leverkusen, 2:5 in Mainz), the recent trend is negative. A game at home comes in handy: Letsch and his team have won all four of the previous four appearances in front of their own fans.
We now have many world-class arenas in Germany. But this is here is niche, this is special.
“The atmosphere in our stadium is great, our fans are great,” says Letsch. “We now have many world-class arenas in Germany. But this is a niche here, it’s something special. I enjoy every moment in this stadium. It’s also the only home stadium where I have a 100 percent win rate. That Hopefully it stays that way for a long time.” The relegation would then probably not be taken from Bochum.
However, Letsch also knows that it will not be a sure-fire success. The 54-year-old expects a challenging task against Hoffenheim. “There’s a lot of quality there,” he says with a view to the upcoming opponent. Hoffenheim was on a completely different path at the beginning of the season. They aspired to play in Europe. But we’re confident enough to take on the task to challenge and want to win.” VfL is not the favorite, “even if their chest gets bigger with every win”.
Letsch does not find any blockage
Due to the positive development, especially in the home games, the VfL coach is not afraid of a decisive setback from the two most recent defeats. The performance in Leverkusen was good, in Mainz both team tactics and individual mistakes led to the loss of three points. “Now it’s a matter of clearly analyzing the mistakes – and that’s what I did afterwards,” said Letsch, who couldn’t find any “blockage” among his players in the past few days: “The game in Mainz is over. We We’re looking forward to continuing on Saturday.” But it is also clear: “It shouldn’t be more than two defeats in a row.”
BVB and Bayern are waiting
Especially not when you look at the rest of the program: Next Wednesday Borussia Dortmund will be visiting Bochum in the round of 16 of the DFB Cup, and on the following Saturday VfL will have to travel to Bayern Munich. “We know what’s in store for us after the Hoffenheim game,” says Letsch, “but I don’t really care now.”
Now there is one clear goal at the center of his thoughts: “We can get three important points in the league, make a decisive move in the table and really pull a competitor into it.” If successful, it would be another moment to enjoy for the Bochum coach, who is so strong at home.
