“No excuse, but…”
Goretzka tries to explain Bayern’s embarrassment
December 10, 2023, 10:29 a.m
Ten days without a competitive game: Because FC Bayern is already out of the DFB Cup and the Bundesliga home game against Union Berlin was canceled last week, the Munich team has an unusually long time off. For Leon Goretzka, this is an approach to how the debacle at Eintracht Frankfurt could come about. But no excuse.
For Leon Goretzka, the reasons for FC Bayern Munich’s 5-1 debacle at Eintracht Frankfurt are complex. “There are certainly many explanations. I think it’s difficult to summarize it in one sentence,” said the national soccer player in the ZDF sports studio. “It feels very humbling.”
One of the explanations is perhaps that Bayern did not play for a long time after the Bundesliga game against Union Berlin was canceled due to weather conditions last Saturday. “That’s certainly one, even if that shouldn’t be an excuse. But it’s very unusual for us not to play for ten days. Normally we play every three days,” said Goretzka.
During the non-game period we trained well and couldn’t tell that we had fallen into a hole. “But from the kick-off it looked like it was going to happen,” said the 28-year-old. Bayern were not in action in the DFB Cup during the week because they had already sensationally bowed out of the competition in the second round at the beginning of November against third division club 1. FC Saarbrücken.
Goretzka practices clear self-criticism
The Munich team will play against Manchester United in the Champions League on Tuesday (9 p.m./Prime Video and in the live ticker at ntv.de) before the top Bundesliga duel with VfB Stuttgart on Sunday. Bayern want to show “a different face” in Manchester. “We want to regain self-confidence and win against Stuttgart if possible,” said Goretzka. In Manchester they want to show the right reaction. “We want to show that it was just a slip-up.”
Goretzka also practiced a lot of self-criticism on ZDF. He didn’t manage to take over the game a bit and give his teammates security through good actions and encouragement. “You have to say that very clearly. I didn’t manage that,” he said about his role as a leading player.
“Such games cannot happen to Bayern Munich. This has happened too often in the past at Bayern Munich and in the national team. Breaking the dynamic that arises in a game like this is a difficult but also an interesting task can create extreme added value for a team,” said Goretzka. “I failed today, or we as a team. I want to do better in the future.”