Schmidt: Bundesliga play-off is about 'achieving something'

Yahoo

21-05-2025

Heidenheim coach Frank Schmidt reacts on the touchline during the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1. FC Heidenheim and Werder Bremen at Voith-Arena. Harry Langer/dpa
Heidenheim coach Frank Schmidt said that the Bundesliga relegation/promotion play-off against SV Elversberg is not about "preventing," but "achieving something."
"These are promotion matches, even if we are the Bundesliga team. That sounds strange, but I know our season and I know our history. For me, it's not about preventing something, but about achieving something," he said in a news conference on Wednesday.
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Heidenheim finished the Bundesliga in 16th and to remain in the top tier they need to defeat second division's third-placed Elversberg. The first leg is on Thursday, with the return leg scheduled for Monday.
"It's about resistance. When you're ahead like Elversberg, you build up resistance. For us it was the other way around, we had to overcome a lot of resistance," Schmidt said.
He hopes his squad can take experience from their participation in the Conference League this season, from which they were eliminated in he play-offs for the last 16.
"These are play-offs games. We know it from the games against Häcken and Copenhagen," he said.
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The news conference was short, with Schmidt saying: "Everything I say doesn't matter. It's about being better on the pitch."
Schmidt has been Heidenheim coach since 2007 and led the team to their first Bundesliga promotion in 2023.