Gladbach’s starter Rocco Reitz: Dream of the DFB team “huge”

Second largest BL market value jump

Borussia Mönchengladbach only has two league wins in the 2024 calendar year, and next weekend the Foals will host 1. FC Köln for the derby at Borussia Park. Midfielder Rocco Reitz, who is one of the positive surprises in coach Gerardo Seoane’s squad this season and who increased his market value from 800,000 to 10 million euros within a very short time, spoke in advance about, among other things, the current situation on the Lower Rhine, his personal development and the dream of the European Championship in their own country.

With five goals and two assists, the 21-year-old is one of the top scorers in the 12th table in the current season. and has been used in all league games to date. The right-footer was in Borussia’s starting line-up 17 times and, in a league-wide comparison, has had the second-largest jump in market value of all Bundesliga professionals since last summer (statistics).

“It all happened very quickly, especially when you see how the previous two years in Mönchengladbach went for me. This is incredible and very, very beautiful. Before the season, I would never have expected to actually collect so many minutes and then take on such a role in such a team. In recent games I haven’t played as often from the start and I have to be honest, I had two or three dents in it. When I ask myself in these moments why I don’t play from the beginning, then I remember where I actually come from. Then I realize again what has already happened this season. “That’s really crazy for me,” said the Duisburg native on the TV channel “Sky”.

Last but not least, his relationship with coach Seoane, who had used his protégé sporadically in recent games, was crucial for the next step in his sporting development. “The coach is always the most important person when it comes to starting a career if he gives us young players their trust. I am very grateful for and will always give everything for the trainer, because at some point you need someone who can pave the way for you, take you by the hand and express their trust in you. That’s what Gerardo Seoane did and I’m extremely grateful for that.”

Reitz extended his contract with the traditional club again at the beginning of February and is tied to the Lower Rhine until 2028. “He is emblematic of the Borussia path, which we have talked about a lot in the past few months. Rocco’s development, especially in the last few months, is sensational and exemplary, and the fact that he sees his future at Borussia in such a long-term manner is a great signal for the entire club,” said sporting director Roland Virkus at the time. The U21 national player Reitz sees that there is still room for improvement: “I prefer to talk about weaknesses first. My header game in the center can get even better, especially in the pre-orientation and really completely shifting the side. I have to approach the chain even more, have more confidence in myself. Finishing goals too, of course, but you can always improve in all things. One of my strengths is definitely my willingness to run. Make deep routes, open up spaces, go through routes with the ball. The gall in counter-pressing is certainly part of it.”

The goal in the remaining ten league games is to “get the most out of it” both as a team and personally. Personally, I always want to push myself to my limits and constantly improve. I hope that we will then experience more glorious times, because this season – with many ups and downs – is already difficult. But I think it will all come. Times will be good in the coming years and I’m looking forward to it. Borussia Mönchengladbach is such a huge club, with so many good fans. I’m really up for it!”

Reitz about Mönchengladbach squad: “We have to find ourselves first”

After numerous departures of top performers in recent transfer periods (for an overview), Borussia is still in a state of upheaval. After two tenth places in the past few years, the team has not gotten higher than 9th place in the current season. “It’s not that easy when you have so many young players and the team is so mixed up. That has to be found first and it takes time until you really understand what the coach wants from you or what the person next to you on the pitch wants from you. But I see an improvement for us every week, even if sometimes things don’t work perfectly on the lawn at the weekend. I am quite sure that there is still a lot in it with the coach and this team and that the next months and years will be really good. I think the collaboration is definitely a good fit,” says Reitz optimistically.

Reitz “definitely doesn’t see” a motivation problem that has often been accused of the professionals recently, as they often seemed to have a hard time against teams from the bottom half of the table. Everyone on the team wants to win every game. We cheer each other on before every game and warm up, no matter who it is against. I think it’s currently more difficult for us to play against supposedly weaker teams because of course they don’t have the ball as much, they don’t let us move things around and let us play our game. I don’t think it can be pigeonholed. It’s very easy to say we’re not motivated enough in games like this.”

He was “very happy with the defense. How we stand in the block, make the spaces narrow and where we then win some of the balls, just as we plan to do. Where we and I have to improve is in the game forward. Finish the counterattack sensibly because we have the opportunity to score these goals. Sometimes we have to play it up even better. It often doesn’t look like that because we then waste the second or third ball and give it away. If we play this sensibly, we can create many more chances and then we would score more goals. This is a key aspect that we can improve.”

Reitz about EM 2024 and the DFB team: “The dream is huge”

Quite a few have linked the two-time young international player with the DFB team in recent months. When asked what he thought about the speculation about an appointment by national coach Julian Nagelsmann and even a possible participation in the European Championship, Reitz explained:

“The dream is huge and playing for the German national team is something I definitely want to achieve in my life. There hasn’t been any contact yet, but to be honest I’m not even thinking about it. It all happened so quickly for me, so you have to take a breath and let everything sink in. I’m totally happy with the U21 and I’m having a lot of fun playing there. We have world-class boys in the center of the DFB eleven who are causing a sensation across Europe. I know everyone always asks me about it, but I really don’t think about it yet. For me, the U21s and Borussia Mönchengladbach count.”

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