Matarazzo: "The excitement is huge"

The opening competitive game of the 2023/24 season is on the horizon: TSG Hoffenheim will be away to VfB Lübeck in the DFB-Pokal first round on Monday (18:00 CET). Prior to the game against the northern club, head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo spoke about the opposition, pre-season and new signing Wout Weghorst.

Pellegrino Matarazzo on…

…the excitement about the start to the season: "Yesterday was the end of pre-season for us, but the season really starts from today. Pre-season is of course fun too, but nothing replaces the competition. The players and we on the coaching staff can sense that. Accordingly, there's a huge sense of anticipation."

…the opposition: "Lübeck are a team that played very courageously last season. The DFB-Pokal tie against Mainz a year ago was also a bold performance. They now played in a slightly more controlled manner on the first league matchday, we'll see what side they show on Monday. Lübeck are a good team and deserved to get promoted to the third division."

…upsets in the DFB-Pokal: "We need to go to our limit. There are no teams that can be underestimated in this competition. We know that. We naturally want to win on Monday, but to do that we'll have to go to the maximum. It's an exciting competition where you can quickly reach the decisive phase."

…Wout Weghorst: "He's definitely still short of match practice, but he is an option for the starting line-up. Wout is making a good impression; fitness was never a problem. Nonetheless, he will need games to get back to his best form."

…pre-season: "It's been very intense, both for the body and the mind. Now we need to bring it all together. We're a team with a lot of tempo changes, that makes us unpleasant to face."

The personnel situation

"Attila Szalai has had back problems since the start of this week, he wants to start training tomorrow and then we'll see if it's okay for Monday. Fisnik Asllani and Kasim Adams are expected back in team training next week, they will therefore be unavailable. In Dennis Geiger's case, it will also take some more time but things are looking much better than they have recently. Umut Tohumcu is expected to join the team in two weeks. Bambasé Conté is also out for the time being."

Head-to-head record

The two teams have only previously met once competitively. In the DFB-Pokal quarter-final in 2004, VfB Lübeck won 1-0 against then Regionalliga outfit TSG Hoffenheim. The aim now is to exact cup revenge.

The opposition's form

After achieving promotion from the Regionalliga Nord, VfB Lübeck are playing in the 3. Liga this season. Coach Lukas Pfeiffer's team battled their way to a 0-0 draw away to second-tier relegated club SV Sandhausen in their opening match last weekend.