Before Bochum against Leipzig: Rose considers “everything” – Letsch gives no starting eleven guarantees
Head coach Marco Rose from RB Leipzig expects many surprises against bottom VfL Bochum. “You try to take everything into account, but it’s primarily about us and our performance,” Rose said at the press conference on Thursday. “New coach, new direction – that means a lot of speculation. Bochum may have a different level of energy after the change of coach. I know Tommy very well and may have an idea of what’s coming,” emphasized Rose before the game Saturday (3.30 p.m./heaven) in the Bundesliga against Bochum.
advertisement
Before his debut as the new coach of VfL Bochum, bottom of the Bundesliga without a win, Thomas Letsch will not give any starting eleven guarantees. “Due to the results of the season so far and the fact that the team has not played successfully, no player needs to be seeded from the start,” said the 54-year-old. Apart from Manuel Riemann in goal, he does not publicly announce who will start in the duel with the twelfth-placed team. “When a new coach comes in, the guys who have played less see their chance. We certainly have 15, 16 players who could start.”
Letsch and Rose already work together at RB Salzburg. “We’ve become friends over the years, our families appreciate each other very much, we even went on vacation together. He was more or less my boss,” said the 46-year-old Rose, who worked as a U16 trainer in Salzburg under the sporting director carried out by the academy. Letsch also paved the way for Rose to win the 2017 Youth League, as he released players like Xaver Schlager and Amadou Haidara as coaches from FC Liefering for Salzburg. “We’re still in contact, even if it has lessened since we both had our jobs.”
advertisement
Now Rose has to fight his former boss. On Saturday he has to do without the sick Yussuf Poulsen. Up front he has to choose between Timo Werner or André Silva. Rose welcomed the German international during training with the words: “Boy, you gotta shoot too.” He praised Silva, who was not nominated for Portugal: “André has trained well, pushed every training session and scored goals. If he’s been training like he’s done in the last ten days, then I have to give him the opportunity.”