Bundesliga - Khedira lacks conviction at Union
Rani Khedira is counting on new momentum at Bundesliga club Union Berlin after the change of coach and is still hoping for new additions in the upcoming transfer window. "Perhaps a breath of fresh air will do us good in the winter," said the vice-captain in a media roundtable on Wednesday, "I'm actually satisfied with the squad and convinced that we'll get out of the bottom again." Union are bottom of the table with seven points after 13 matchdays.
The 29-year-old midfielder blames several factors for the fact that Union are now in the highest risk of relegation after the most successful season in the club's history with a place in the Champions League. Other characters have joined the team and the sense of entitlement has also increased in the environment. Furthermore, it was not possible to prepare properly. After a good start with two wins, "then came the slump that nobody noticed," said Khedira.
Due to the lack of success, the team then lost its typical style of play: "Then everyone had their own ideas on the pitch. And not everyone did what had made Union strong in recent years: That you went in one direction and everyone knew what was going on in the other head in the respective situation." Later on, there was a lack of "one hundred percent conviction" to implement things the way they were intended: "Then you don't have the calmness for the quality that we think we have because we were so successful last season."
According to Khedira, the success also had a negative effect. "If you think that you have to take one less step as a Champions League player, then you're lost in the Bundesliga. Then you come down to earth." And Union in particular have to go to the limit every day and especially in the games: "If one wheel doesn't mesh with the other, we're not a top team. You have to say that."
The change of coach from Urs Fischer to Nenad Bjelica has now heightened awareness again. "Now the weight room is occupied again, everyone can prove themselves and show their best side," says Khedira, for whom the "season is only just beginning" due to injuries and suspensions. He is also hoping for a positive change for the upcoming games: "You have to see the glass half full and go the distance with the necessary looseness and excitement."
Before the winter break, the team still has home games against Borussia Mönchengladbach next Saturday (3:30 p.m./Sky) and against 1. FC Köln (December 20) as well as the away game at VfL Bochum (December 16). Then there is the Champions League match against Real Madrid on December 12, which will decide whether Union can continue in the Europa League after the winter break. Khedira is focusing on the fight against relegation, but points to the second half of the season: "I don't care what points we have at Christmas. You have to be above the line after 34 matchdays."
Website of Union Berlin
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Source: www.stern.de
