Benjamin, you get to play Real Madrid in the Champions League. What was your first reaction and what are you particularly looking forward to against the defending champions?
Benjamin Henrichs: Of course I was really excited because I finally got to play against Real Madrid for the first time. Those are the highlights you dreamed of as a kid, being able to compete with the best.

When you look at the other opponents, Shakhtyor Donetsk and Celtic Glasgow, it’s definitely an advantage that RB was seeded in pot two for the first time.
We had very tough groups two years before, but in 2020 we also beat Paris St. Germain and Manchester United, and last year we won against Manchester City. So it comes down to our performance and quality rather than big names. On the other hand, it won’t be easy for us to play against Shakhtyor Donetsk and Celtic Glasgow. They all have the quality for the Champions League and have rightly qualified for the group stage.

On the Bundesliga: The omens before the – Season were very good. In your view, what were the main reasons for the weak start?
A lot hinges on the first game in Stuttgart, in which we had 28 shots on goal but only scored once. If we had scored one more goal there, we very likely wouldn’t be in the current situation. Against Wolfsburg, we now want to show that we can do better.

Henrichs on the situation at RB Leipzig: “Will also prove this time that we can come back all the stronger”.

How disappointed are you yourself with this start? Before the – Season , it was said that the team wanted to score more consistently in the first half of the – Season as well, in order to keep pace with FC Bayern for as long as possible. Now the gap is already seven points.
Of course, we all imagined it differently. We are disappointed because it is unnecessary that we drew twice and lost. But we also know that we can draw motivation and new strength from this. No team can describe that better than we can, if you look at where we started with Domenico Tedesco and how the – Season ended. We will also prove this time that we can come back all the stronger after weaker phases.

Kevin Kampl recently said that the team did not completely follow match plans of the coach. Are you with him on that?
If the coach sends us into the game with one idea and we only do something different three or four times, those can be exactly the situations where the opponent counters and we’re down 0:2. So we should stick to the plan throughout. For me, it was completely unnecessary against Union how we conceded the goals.

What style of play does RB stand for right now? Domenico Tedesco would have preferred to see 80 percent possession against Union. Is that the right way to play against deep-lying teams?
That’s definitely a way to go. If I just think about the scenes in the game against Union where Timo Werner doesn’t get the penalty or I send him off and he hits the post, those are exactly the situations that can come out of that possession. We have the quality for combination soccer with a lot of possession. But we can play many styles, sometimes we press fully, sometimes we act a bit more wait-and-see.

Are there still the RB style?
Yes, there is still the typical RB game. In the opener against Stuttgart, we pressed up front and went all out. Against Union, on the other hand, we wanted to have as much possession as possible and play patiently. That didn’t work out because of avoidable mistakes.

What does RB Leipzig need? “Mix of patience, efficiency in front of goal and calmness on the ball”.

Does the team still need to learn patience?
Partly, partly. It’s a mix of patience, efficiency in front of goal, and calmness on the ball in how we set up play in midfield against a compact, pressing opponent.

Is it a factor that two players, David Raum and Timo Werner, joined late and missed the preparation?
It’s always a difference whether players come from abroad who first have to get used to the new culture and language or whether, as in this case, they are German internationals who know the league. Both have really great quality. Timo has given us even more speed for deep runs and David Raum can bring in the crosses on the dot. The integration of the two will not be a process that will take long.

You’ve already experienced false starts to the – Season at Monaco and with RB. What’s important now to get your act together as quickly as possible?
We can’t let ourselves go crazy. We’re now in the fourth matchday. But when you see the reaction in the media that suddenly the coach is not the right one and the team is supposed to be too bad, then I ask myself: what’s going on here? Feels like we are on the verge of relegation, when you hear and read what is written and said. Sure, the results weren’t there and we’re currently running behind our own expectations, but we didn’t play badly. The recipe now is quite simple: continue to work patiently and hard, then success will come.

He tries to catch us, is there for us, doesn’t tense up.

Benjamin Henrichs on Domenico Tedesco

How do you experience Domenico Tedesco in the new situation where things don’t go so well?
He tries to catch us, is there for us. Before the first session this week, he said that we should go onto the pitch with a smile and not let the situation drive us crazy. He doesn’t tense up, doesn’t let the outside influence him. That makes it easier for us players. Accordingly, we also had a good training week with a lot of fun.

What distinguishes the coach from your point of view?
Domenico is a coach who is very detailed, who also works a lot individually with all the players – in video studies as well as on the pitch. He pays attention to the little things, which can also be throw-ins. That helps us in a very concrete way. And on the motivation level, he also gets us in top shape before the games. We want to tear ourselves apart when we get on the pitch.

His predecessor Jesse Marsch once said that he didn’t know exactly what your qualities were. Have you been able to show them at RB in the meantime?
What do you say?

“By now even Jesse Marsch knows what my qualities are”.

You have become an important factor in the team during the second half of the – Season – in various positions.
Unfortunately, I didn’t really get a chance under Jesse. If you don’t play and are publicly questioned, your image in the public eye sinks. But I knew that if I kept pushing anyway, I’d be ready when the situation changed. Three months after Domenico took over, I was back with the national team. I think by now even Jesse Marsch knows what my qualities are (laughs).

Namely?
On the six, I’m very stable defensively, win duels and distribute the ball well. On the right, I’m a playful guy. Compared to David Raum, I’m not the type to run up and down and put in cross after cross, but rather go on the dribble, try to play a one-two or find a free teammate. It’s important that we have different types of players on the wing, because otherwise we’d be too easy to predict.

Will you be oscillating between the six and the right flank throughout the – Season ?
I don’t know exactly. The coach knows that I can also play on the six and am very happy to take on that role. But we’re very crowded there, less so on the outside. I know where I’m coming from, what the situation was a year ago. I’ll never complain about the fact that I’m perhaps not playing my absolute favorite position, but I’m happy to be in the team – and to be able to show my qualities (laughs).

What are your personal plans? How do you want to set accents?
I discovered my goal-scoring ability last – Season , and I didn’t think that was bad. If I can increase my scoring rate again, that would be great. But first and foremost, the challenge for me is to play the defensive part just as well as the offensive.

The next international match against Hungary will take place in Leipzig. Have you already received signals from the national coach that you’ll be involved?
The last contact was with co-trainer Danny Röhl at the training camp in Styria. If I’m in, I’ll find out soon enough. Until then I will bring my performance.

In which position do you see the national coaches?
More on the right, but I’ve also trained on the left with the national team. It’s not a disadvantage that the national coach knows I can also play on the six and am very variable.

Henrichs on the World Cup in Qatar: “That’s my dichotomy as a player”.

Is it an advantage that there are now as many as five German internationals at RB? At the World Cup, RB could form the second strongest block behind Bayern.
Sure, such a block always brings advantages. On the one hand, it speaks for the club that players like Timo Werner and David Raum decide to join us. On the other hand, it would speak in our favor if we were to travel to Qatar as a block and prove our international quality.

You are a socially committed type. There is a lot of criticism surrounding the World Cup with regard to working conditions and human rights. Are you concerned about that?
Definitely. We’ve listened to various lectures from experts with the national team to know what’s happening on the ground in Qatar. We are very well informed. But there’s always the dream of being at a World Cup. When Germany came third in 2006, I watched it as a little boy and cried when the team lost to Italy in the semifinals. Now I have the chance to play in a World Cup myself. That’s my dichotomy as a player.

How do you deal with it?
We as players have no influence on FIFA’s venue decision. It’s important to keep the awareness and attention in focus. We have confidence that the DFB and politicians are taking the issues seriously and hopefully things will improve soon.

You have also been involved in the Black Lives Matter movement. Are you still committed to the issue of racism?
I continue to give my voice for Black-lives-matter. Everyday racism continues to be an issue for me on a daily basis. One example is that I am often spoken to in English, then respond in German, but the person still continues to speak English to me. The fact that I am black doesn’t automatically mean that I don’t know German. These are small things, but they bother me because I was born in Bocholt and grew up here in Germany.