bundesliga.de talks to Bayer Leverkusen legend Ulf Kirsten ahead of the UEFA Cup clash with Zenit St. Petersburg.
bundesliga.de: Ulf Kirsten, you stepped down in 2003. At the moment you’re coach of Leverkusen reserves. Are you used to the bench by now?
Ulf Kirsten: Yes, the transition was a smooth one. I was assistant coach under Klaus Augenthaler for a year and did the training work together with Peter Hermann. We harmonised well with “Auge” and I was able to learn something.
bundesliga.de: Bayer play a different football these days, without the player type you once were. Stefan Kießling for example is a hard-running player.
Kirsten: Kießling isn’t a real centre forward, he comes from the wings very often. His strength is running at defenders with pace. Gekas and Bulykin are more typical centre forwards. It’s a good thing to have three different types of strikers. That makes you more variable and unpredictable.
bundesliga.de: Bayer play very successful this season, why?
Kirsten: Coaching staff and management have put together a team that works very well. There’s no obstructionist in the team, the players harmonise well and the blend of young and old fits the bill. Experienced players like Bernd Schneider, Carsten Ramelow and Sergej Barbarez lead the team. And the “young guns” such as Gonzalo Castro and Tranquillo Barnetta have matured into internationals. The team is hungry.
bundesliga.de: Especially in Europe Bayer have played very well. Teams like Galatasaray and HSV were eliminated, now they face St. Petersburg. How do you rate Bayer’s chances?
Kirsten: I think it’s a fifty-fifty chance. Playing at home first is a slight disadvantage. But it was that way against HSV, too, and we still went through. If everything goes well I’m convinced that we’ll beat St. Petersburg.
bundesliga.de: Zenit are strong up front. Progebnyak leads the UEFA Cup scoring charts together with Luca Toni and Andrej Arshavin is a Russian international. What should the first-leg strategy be?
Kirsten: We have to play compact and keep a clean sheet, that’s the most important thing. Even a goalless draw wouldn’t be the end of the world. We have proved against HSV that we can always score. I’m optimistic that it works out. A defeat would be fatal, of course.
bundesliga.de: Bundesliga and UEFA Cup: what is still possible for Bayer this season?
Kirsten: We gave away a “big point” at the weekend losing at home - just like some other teams. Our goal is still an UEFA Cup place, but qualifying for the Champions League is still possible, too. I hope that we finish at least third.
Interview: Fatih Demireli / Translation: Christof Greiner
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