1. FC Köln celebrates their home win against 1. FC Nürnberg. Then comes the draw for the DFB Cup quarter-finals – awesome.
FC could hardly have faced a tougher draw, especially away from home. “We were really happy that we were still on board for the draw,” said FC coach Gerhard Struber after the decision. “Of course it’s an opponent you don’t want to face first. But that’s how it is in the cup. It’s a really tough board, but it’s still a cup game. A lot can happen in a game.”
For Struber it will be the first meeting with the Werkself. “It’s important to go far beyond our limits and deliver. We have huge respect and high regard for the opponent. That’s the finest cream, but we don’t want to make it too easy for the Leverkusen team.” In any case, FC gained further self-confidence against Nuremberg on Sunday and showed what Leverkusen can prepare for in February against the new second-placed team in the 2nd Bundesliga.
Damion Downs: “Perfect is always a thing, but it was a very good first half. It was fun. We call Heintzi (Dominique Heintz, editor’s note) ‘magic foot’ in the team, which is what he did in the 1-0 win showed again when I took the penalty and it hit me, so I couldn’t continue. Definitely a penalty after the break, we tried to defend everything “It’s really nice to look at the table and it shows that we’ve done really well in the last few games. That’s why we want to be in first place at some point.”
Dominique Heintz: “It’s important to me that we’re successful as a team. You have to say that Damion did a great job at 1-0 and handled the ball brilliantly. But that’s no longer a coincidence at the moment. We train that, they’re great running paths. The fact that we are 3-0 up after 30 minutes speaks for our performance at 2-0 it was simply my quality (.laughs). The rib is okay, I always need an injection before the game, but it’s getting better day by day. I don’t look at the table because it’s so tight. Of course it’s nice that we’re knocking on the door up there. You have to adapt every game. We have a good mix, a good balance, and stay calm even after conceding a goal. We have grown up and are no longer too passive. That’s what sets us apart at the moment.”
Florian Kainz: “It’s a great feeling! Now we’re up there, which feels good. We have to keep collecting our points and end the year with a three-pointer. We played a very good first half and could even have scored one or two more goals The second half wasn’t as good, but Nuremberg was also much better. But that’s how it is when you’re 3-0 up and the opponent has everything I would have agreed last time I liked to shoot in the game, but since Dejo (Dejan Ljubičić, editor’s note) had scored three days before, it was clear that he would shoot it. Today it was clear that I was shooting and had a good rate. I’m happy that I scored a goal.”