Have you ever wondered which team Leipzig coach Domenico Tedesco would support if the World Cup final were Italy against Germany? In what language will the multilingual master tactician guide his team? Answers are coming soon for you today, but it's much more than that, as we have the privilege of having an interview with Tedesco himself! In this interview, RB Leipzig's current head coach Tedesko talks about the efforts he has made since taking over the team halfway through the season and his coaching staff, as well as the state of the Red Bulls as the season draws to a close.
Since Tedesco took office last December, Leipzig has been getting better under Tedesco's command. Currently, the team from Saxony is vying for the top four places in the Bundesliga, reaching the semi-finals of the German Cup and the quarter-finals of the European Champions Cup, and will face an exciting final eight weeks, a season full of hope. Ahead of the international match, the 36-year-old Leipzig tactical master took questions from sports journalists from across Europe to assess his performance so far at the Leipzig stadium.
Q: After coming to Leipzig to coach, what changes have you made to the team?
Tedesco: "First of all, when you come to a new club, you have to get to know the team; you have to talk to every player and try to figure out what the problems were in the past. I changed the system, I tried to communicate more with the players. I want to attack more when I'm in possession and try to put pressure in a different way. When I first came here, I realised that the players are very eager to achieve something and that's what I like about them, but sometimes it's better to stay calm in some situations. ”
Q: (Former Leipzig coach) How much foundation did Jesse Marsh lay for your job?
Tedesco: "I think Jesse is doing a great job. I found here that teams are very strong physically and mentally, and they are all very good players. Of course, this is the foundation of my work, without which my work would have to start at a lower level. ”
Q: How important is this short winter break? Do you think this is a turning point?
Tedesco: "The winter break is really short. The first game was against Mainz, and we had only a week before that. I think it's very important to analyze the game when you only have such a short amount of time. We had three games in December and of course I analyzed them all to try to figure out where we needed to improve? Then in the only week we tried to refine the plan. It's important to keep going, finish the game against Mainz first, then analyze where we can improve and improve this week. I think it's an ongoing process. ”
Q: Did you feel any pressure in the last seven Bundesliga games of the season?
Tedesco: "(We) weren't stressed at all because we knew where we were. In December Leipzig was only in the 11th or 12th position, out of reach of the top four. We have a lot of key matches in April and if we want to get to the final, it has to depend on the work of our team before we can get to the final. Stress on the football pitch is always everywhere and no matter where you work, you have to be ambitious, but it's not a pressure, it's a motivation, it's the best gift of football and it's important for players to see pressure that way. ”
Q: How important is it to communicate with the players in their native language?
Tedesco: "I try to speak only English when the team is training, and so do our video conferencing (and) tactical meetings. But we're a German club, so I want everyone in the club to learn German. But it's not easy, so it's useful to speak French to the French or, to André Silva. Of course, understanding them (for me) is important. ”
Q: What do you think Nkunku owes to his performance?
Tedesco: "Before I arrived, he was in perfect shape, he scored a lot of goals during his time in Marsh. Then we did a lot of work to make it easier for strikers to carry the ball into the box. I think it's inseparable from the efforts of the whole team, creating a lot of opportunities for him, and Christopher (Nkunku) and Andrei (Silva) are very happy about it. Andre has also scored a lot of goals, so we're happy and it's always the result of the whole team's support. ”
Q: What are your ambitions for the rest of the season?
Tedesco: "We want to win all the games, of course, I think we have the ability, but the opponent also wants to. When you get to the semi-finals, everyone wants to get to the finals. We will strive to achieve every goal. Our goal is to win the German Cup first. It's normal for a team that reaches the semi-finals to want to win a match. ”
Q: When you went to coaching classes together, did you really get higher grades than Nagelsman, or was it just a legend?
Tedesco: "Not really. You know, I think in the last few weeks of that exam he was already the coach of the Hoffenheim first team and he didn't have that much time to study to prepare for the exam. ”
Q: Do you need to be more tactically flexible than you were in Schalke?
Tedesco: Overall, my view of football is that you have to learn to adapt. Having to adapt to the type of player I have, and the energy I have in my team, is the main part of my job. If you look at my squad in Schalke, we have a lot of players who can fight and run, so we managed to launch a lot of counter-attacks. We followed Bayern Munich in the standings because we did a very good job defensively and everybody was united and very compact. Good team spirit, quality defensive counter-attacks, lots of set-pieces to score. ”
Q: How did you get through the adaptation period when you returned to Germany from Moscow?
Tedesco: "You have to adapt. The teams here are completely different. At Spartacus moscow I have a completely different team, the youngest team in Russia, with very good players, excellent technique, every game we have 70% possession. But I have to be flexible as a coach to change tactics, that's my point. ”
Q: How do you rebuild confidence in teams that are underperforming, that may be attacked by the media, that the fans are blowing up?
Tedesco: "First of all, don't read the newspaper yourself, and then ask the players themselves not to read any reports. But it's actually hard to do, because they still read, and honestly, I can't help but read it myself. The most important thing is to learn to analyze the game yourself, rather than letting outsiders (media, fans) analyze it. Even if we win a game 6-1, like the one we beat Fürth, we have to analyze the game: 'Look, we lost four counter-attack opportunities,' or 'We could have scored eight goals, why didn't we?'" Or when we lose a game and everyone is attacking us, but I need to tell the team the truth, because only when you analyze the game with your heart can you say that we have a well-organized attack, we don't concede so many goals, we defend well, or in the face of pressure, we can improve this or that link. It is important to always work on the details and not allow external factors to influence the inside of the team. ”
Q: Imagine if Germany and Italy were in the World Cup or European Championship finals, which side would you support?
Tedesco: "Italy, no doubt. ”
Because you grew up watching Italian games, right?
Tedesco: "Yes. I watched a lot of Italian matches. In 2006, the World Cup was held here (in Germany); you simply can't imagine that my German friends were teasing me all day, asking when the Italian team would be eliminated. So when we won in Berlin, we were so excited. It's a wonderful thing for us Italians living in Germany. Unfortunately, Italy once again missed the World Cup. ”