Frank Baumann im Interview

WERDER.DE: In Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern München, two very tough tests await. You won’t be writing those games off though, will you?

Baumann: “No. We need to take some lesions from last year, when we thought we could get something out of game, even though we didn’t have the confidence going into them. That’s not what we want to do! If we put in a good performance, we have the chance of pulling something off. It is our objective to pick up points, even though we are playing against two of the best teams in the league. We will have to call on all that we have got and be brave and confident going into the games.  

WERDER.DE: What goals have you set for the second half of the season?

Baumann: “It remains the case that we want to secure our position in the top flight as soon as possible and not have to worry until the last game of the season like last year. After a bad start to the season, we have managed to improve our situation, but we are still only three points off the drop. It is getting quite tight. The other teams around us have also prepared well. We can’t afford to switch off in any game now.” 

WERDER.DE: Your first six months as sporting director has already gone. Have you had the chance to draw your own personal conclusion on this period so far?

Baumann: “Of course, I had a bit of time on holiday to do a bit of reflecting. From my point of view, I think it is very important to be self-critical. I can definitely say that it wasn’t a boring first six months. We had lots to do in terms of rebuilding the squad, which we have also worked on in the last couple of weeks. We are happy with how that development is going. The team have definitely become more solid. We have had less injuries, even though we had to do without a couple of players in our winter preparations. Nevertheless, there are still things we can improve on. You can never be content, if you want to keep on developing further.” 

WERDER.DE: Where do you see improvements being made then in the medium term?

Baumann: “I’m a big fan of keeping those sorts of things internal. Even though as a club we are in a good position in a lot of areas, there is still that need to optimise certain things. We will change and implement a few things yet.”  

WERDER.DE: Thomas Delaney, Werder’s only arrival in the January transfer window, has completed his first training session and played his first friendly. What are your first impressions of him? 

Baumann: “He has only confirmed what we have seen of him in the last few years and of our conversations with him before he signed with us. He is in every aspect a very positive person who has integrated very quickly into the squad. He understands German very well and is also not bad at speaking it himself, so there are no issues there. On the pitch, he likes to play with the ball at his feet, he runs his socks off in midfield, can counter very quickly and can also create chances going forward. We are delighted that he is now playing for us.”  

WERDER.DE: The capture of players such as Delaney, Kruse and Gnabry made some Werder fans rub their eyes a bit. Considering that over the last few years, Werder have been towards the foot of the table, how have you managed to convince them to play for Werder?” 

Baumann: “We still have a very good reputation abroad, both through the history of the club but also through how we play as a team. The way in which the fans have stayed behind the club, even through the difficult times, shows how strongly the club identifies with the region. Of course, we can’t attract the absolute best players in the world and financially it is hard to compete with the top clubs from Germany and also England. We have to attract players in a different way. We are a club where players feel at home, get a lot of time on the pitch and can perform to the best of their ability. We try and demonstrate to the these players the way in which we want to develop the club further. We then need to put that into practise and take the next step forward so that in the future, we can not only bring in these players, but keep them also.