“Incredibly proud” | OneFootball

Markus Krösche on the “reward for a top season”, Dino Toppmöller praises his young team and Ansgar Knauff highlights the team’s togetherness. The reaction to the final match of the season.

Board member for sport Markus Krösche: “It’s a great success. It was a difficult match but the boys stuck to their plan and tried to impose themselves on the game. We succeeded in that. At the end it was obviously Eintracht-like, but deserved. It’s been an intense year. We have a young team who have grown together. We came into this season from a difficult year, lost Omar Marmoush in the winter. The team have character and incredible resilience. I’m very proud of them. Now’s the time to enjoy the moment – it’s the reward for a top season.”

Head coach Dino Toppmöller: “It’s an indescribable feeling. If you look at the whole season and the match, it’s fully deserved for us. We’ve shown so much resilience. I’m incredibly proud of this young team. What they’ve achieved is outstanding. We tried to take the pressure off the team in the build-up to the match, but it was there because of the situation alone. To then fall behind out of nothing and come back is impressive. Qualification for the Champions League is a milestone for the whole club. We all wanted to bring this wonderful club into the Champions League. We’re going to hugely enjoy this day.”

Ansgar Knauff: “It was very important that we equalised before half-time. After that we produced a very strong second-half performance from front to back, gave little away, created chances ourselves and deserved to win in the end. We gave it everything we’ve got. We can be very pleased with what we’ve achieved this season and how we’ve developed. To reach the Champions League is something very special. You noticed that straight after the final whistle, when we celebrated with the fans. A very special moment and the reward for the work we’ve put in this season.”