“Then we lost twice, and the coach changed things a bit.”
Konrad Seiwald is fighting to reverse his recent squad degradation at RB Leipzig after coach Martin Demichelis altered his tactical setup, sport.ORF.at reported.
Seiwald started the opening matches of the season regularly in the central defensive midfield. sport.ORF.at reported that defeats against Werder Bremen and Como prompted a reshuffle from Demichelis.
The Leipzig coach now deploys only one holding midfielder in a more offensive formation.
“He wants to play a bit more offensively, I have to accept that,”
Seiwald said to sport.ORF.at during the Austrian national team camp in Aspern.
During Leipzig’s 5-2 victory over Augsburg, the 55-time international did not feature off the bench. Demichelis wants greater attacking impetus from the former Salzburg player.
“He wants a different, more offensive player type with more drive forward,”
Seiwald said to sport.ORF.at.
Accepting the demotion has proved challenging for the 25-year-old midfielder.
“I feel good and fit in training, the situation in the national team is as always,”
Seiwald said to sport.ORF.at.
Club football presents a different mental hurdle when transitioning to a substitute role.
“At RB it’s a bit of a different thing because you take on a slightly different role and sometimes have to force yourself to take responsibility from the bench,”
Seiwald said to sport.ORF.at.
He acknowledged the volatility of professional sports.
“That’s how fast it goes in football, it can also go fast the other way round,”
Seiwald said to sport.ORF.at.
Seiwald faces no such selection doubts with the Austrian national team. Austria hosts Ireland in Linz on Saturday in the UEFA Nations League, where a victory secures top spot in the group ahead of Tuesday’s match against Israel in Debrecen.
Austria aims to avoid a repeat of their sluggish start from the previous 2-2 draw in Dublin.
“This time it will be a different game,”
Seiwald said to sport.ORF.at.
“We want to take command right away and must not be caught by surprise,”
Seiwald said to sport.ORF.at.
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