Hannover 96 at Schott Mainz: Cup game in times of unrest | NDR.de – Sports
As of: 07/29/2022 5:22 p.m
At the second division football club Hannover 96 there is currently only one topic: the dismissal of managing director Martin Kind. The team is visiting fifth division side TSV Schott Mainz on Sunday. Actually feasible – or does the restless preparation increase the risk of stumbling?
You’ve tried a number of times. But Stefan Leitl did not let himself be lured into the press conference on Friday. When it came to the first subtle hints from the media representatives When Kind was dismissed as managing director of the outsourced professional football company, the 96 coach did it in the style of a shrewd politician. He gratefully picked up a rather irrelevant aspect and then talked about it at such length that he moved further and further away from the core of the actual question. And when one of the journalists tried to be very direct, the coach made him understand: “I don’t want to comment on the subject.
96 coach Leitl feels “good energy” in the team
It really wasn’t made easy for the 44-year-old. Since last Wednesday evening, since Hannover 96 announced that Kind had been recalled, everything has only revolved around one topic: What’s next for the club, which Kind has managed with only a short break since 1997? On Thursday, the message followed that the 78-year-old entrepreneur was having his dismissal legally examined, and on Friday Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) also got involved in the topic. He was skeptical about Kind’s dismissal, he said.
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Leitl was very professional on the podium. He gave no indication that the unrest in the club could have a negative impact on the outcome of the cup game at TSV Schott Mainz (Sunday, 3:31 p.m., in the live center on NDR.de). “We are preparing diligently for the game in order to go through to the next round.” And then he even said: “I feel good energy in the team, the boys are happy and having fun at work.”
Hanover without Borner and Weydandt
The party gives him nostalgic feelings. It will be held in the Bruchweg Stadium, the former home of 1. FSV Mainz 05. “I’m really looking forward to it, I was allowed to play there myself,” said Leitl. In any case, he feels anticipation. “The DFB Cup is a short competition in which you can be very successful. We’re looking forward to the game – and it’s also clear that we want to get through to the next round.” Two 96-players will not be able to help: defender Julian Börner is missing with a thigh injury, striker Hendrik Weydandt with a arthritis.
The game on Sunday does not start at 3:30 p.m. as originally planned, but at 3:31 p.m. As part of a DFB campaign for environmental and climate protection, all first-round games in the DFB Cup this weekend will kick off one minute later. As the German Football Association explains, the time should be used for loudspeaker announcements on the subject of climate protection.
Possible lineups:
TSV Schott Mainz: Hansen – Kern, Ahlbach, Haas, Schlosser – Schneider – Schwarz, Müller, Portmann, Sinanovic – Merkel
Hannover 96: Buying wine – Dehm, Neumann, Börner, Köhn – Kunze – Schaub, Besuschkow – Kerk – Nielsen, Beier
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