BY OLIVER GRISS AND IMAGO (PHOTO)
How quickly the mood at 1860 Munich can change…
A few weeks ago, immediately after the 4-0 defeat in Regensburg, the Lions squad that was put together last summer was paraded in the VIP area and the finger was pointed at the man who put it together: ex-managing director Dr. Christian Werner. After the recent 2-1 win in Ingolstadt, the team came damn close to the promotion ranks. Only three points behind second place – but ahead of the annual final against third-placed SC Verl (Saturday, 4:30 p.m., db24 ticker), 1860 has massive personnel concerns. No fewer than seven established professionals are definitely out: Jesper Verlaat, Kevin Volland, Sigurd Haugen, Max Christiansen, Tunay Deniz, Raphael Schifferl and Morris Schröter – can the Lions compensate for this major bloodletting? However, you shouldn’t expect too much against East Westphalia – despite Markus Kauczinski.
The new managing director Manfred Paula spoke to MagentaSport on the sidelines of the 2-1 win in Ingolstadt about:
the series of successes and the spirit of optimism: “I’m always careful with terms like ‘spirit of optimism’ and the like. We’re pleased that we’ve managed to do that so well in the last few games. I think it’s because we were able to present ourselves as more stable defensively than in the last few weeks and the games before that. We’ve found a way to work well against the ball. The back row is mostly stable and that’s an important criterion that we have on our side at the moment. Then we’re always a threat going forward and fortunately we score the necessary ones Goals to win games. That’s how we want to continue.”
the A word: “No! We have always said the phrase that is very well known: We think from game to game and it is actually like that. Of course there was a lot of praise before the season and nominally it is already a strong squad. But 20 good players do not make a successful team. One cog has to mesh with the other. We are working on it, we are tinkering with it together with Markus Kauczinski. I see us on the right track. But there is still a lot to do.”
After 2-1 in Ingolstadt: What else do you think the Lions can do?
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Coach Markus Kauczinski: “There are several things that are going better or are going better for us. Markus has managed to find an approach to every player. He has had a lot of conversations. He has also explored why one or two players cannot bring their top performance onto the pitch. He has also turned the adjustment screws a bit. There are little things that were missing and are still missing in order to bring a top performance onto the pitch every game. We still have a lot of room for improvement. But we are happy about it the level reached.”
Wintertransfers: “We are not in an emergency situation where we have an urgent need for action somewhere. We have to see that with Jesper Verlaat, with Morris Schröter and ultimately with Kilian Jakob, who is already there, three players come back who didn’t play for almost the entire first half of the season. That helps us extremely. We have a loss with Tunay Deniz. But I definitely see opportunities in our own camp, including in our own young talent. So we don’t have a great need for action. But if there is a good option for us “We will think about it again.”
The whole truth of the Lions’ upswing also includes the fact that Markus Kauczinski – in contrast to Patrick Glöckner – has a fine feeling for the locker room and characters and has formed a team out of individual talents. The fact that 1860 took this path is due not least to Manfred Paula, who noted early on: The club cannot tolerate experiments in this crucial position, but needs experience – experience that Kauczinski undoubtedly has.
