Cat and mouse game in Leverkusen
©IMAGO
After the 0:6 (0:5) debacle at Bayer Leverkusen, the players of 1. FC Heidenheim do not skimp on harsh self-criticism. “That was bottomless. The way we were shown was catastrophic. So we lost nothing in the Bundesliga,” said striker Mathias Honsak, who struggled for the right words after the clear result.
The team was already behind after just two minutes and only managed one shot on goal in 90 minutes. “Everything blew up in our faces today. Every single action, every single duel. We weren’t there at all. It felt like we were just puppets who marched along, little sticks that you put in,” the Austrian continued. “I would like to forget the day as quickly as possible.”
The fans who had traveled with us also had unusually clear words for the team after the final whistle. “We have to face it. Today we were shown up. We really got hit in the face today, like never before in recent years,” said Tim Siersleben. He added, referring to the opponent: “They played cat and mouse with us.”
Heidenheim suffered the biggest defeat in professional football
In fact, the last time the Heidenheimers lost so much was in the league. There, in December 2004, the result of an away game against SV Sandhausen was also 0:6. The biggest defeats in professional football so far have been two games in the 2nd Bundesliga against Paderborn in 2018 and Darmstadt in 2021, each of which ended 1:5 (among all record results in Heidenheim’s history).
Coach Frank Schmidt, who often sat on the bench with a stone-faced expression during the game, summed it up: “Brutal result for us. It’s been a long time since we lost so badly. I’d say a shave without foam.” It is now not just up to the coaching team to find solutions. Every single player has to question themselves. “That was clearly not enough of us.”
