FIRST TEAM
02/23/2017

Kevin Vogt: NFL? “I’m not stocky enough”

Kevin Vogt has been injury free since matchday four, so he has played. 90 minutes, every game. Vogt is one of the key players in a stable TSG defence. In an interview with achtzehn99.de, he speaks about his role on the pitch, setbacks and the upcoming Bundesliga duel with Schalke 04.

Julian Nagelsmann recently compared you to NFL quarterback Tom Brady. Is there something in that?

Kevin Vogt: I’m not sure if he was comparing me to Tom Brady or my position on the pitch to that of a quarterback. There is a subtle difference there. There are certainly parallels between the two. My position is not only a defensive one, it’s also about coming up with attacking ideas and to start moves. There are definitely comparisons to be made but I think there is more of a responsibility on Tom Brady’s shoulders in his team; every attack starts from him. I’m part of the team and want to be the player that creates things on the pitch but there are lots of other things involved in football as well.

The statistics speak for themselves. You’ve made 1200 passes (the second most from a TSG player) and your pass completion rate is an outstanding 91.3 % (the best at TSG). Brady would be crying tears of joy with that number…

Vogt: Those statistics are very good but Tom Brady would certainly not be crying. He’s achieved so much in his career. They are both statistics that are important for the way I play. I want to continue performing at a high level for the rest of the season. It is important that I pass it out from the back. That is what I demand of myself.

You’re also very strong at tackling and putting in challenges. There has been a couple of occasions this season where your tackling has been a bit off though.

Vogt: That’s an area where I can still do better. Sometimes it’s about deliberately and skillfully staying out of challenges in my position so that we can regain possession afterwards. That might sound strange but that is how it is.

Could you maybe have been a professional American football player?

Vogt: I don’t think I’m stocky enough for it. Maybe playing as a quarterback would have been an option but my father was always giving me the ball at my feet and rarely in my hands. Papa really showed me the ropes in football.

In four matches since returning to the Bundesliga after the break, you’ve picked up six points and lost twice. You didn’t lose once before Christmas and got four points in your final two matches before the break.

Vogt: In football it is about picking up points, so six is better than four but nevertheless it has been mixed feelings. I can accept the defeat in Leipzig since we were not the better team there but the match against Wolfsburg really bugs me because we threw it away far too easily in the second half. However we learned our lessons from that. We are at our best when we play simple, straightforward football. Playing lovely football but not winning is not an option and the match against Darmstadt emphasised that. We didn’t do anything fancy but we played to our strengths.

You got back to winning ways immediately after both defeats. Is putting setbacks behind you a particular quality of this team?

Vogt: Definitely. A lot has been said about this and the media are always speculating. “What is happening now? How will Hoffenheim respond?” We came back twice brilliantly. One defeat will not completely throw us off course. We can assess these things in a reasonable manner but obviously I would prefer us not to have this two week cycle of losing and then reacting to it with a win.

You face FC Schalke on Sunday. The Royal Blues were in Europa League action last night. Is that an advantage for you?

Vogt: That will not have any impact on the game. Schalke have a very big squad and they are used to playing mid-week. Moreover their Europa League game was moved forward to Wednesday and we are playing on Sunday at 16:30 CET. They won’t have any problems recovering for that.

What are you expecting from this clash and what do you want to read in the headlines afterwards?

Vogt: We have high expectations of ourselves and a lot of confidence. There is no reason for us to shy away. Schalke have a good team but so do we. We definitely want to pick up points there and if they open the door for us, we want to pounce and get the tree points. That is our aim. That is what we’re demanding of ourselves. I would love to see the papers talking about TSG being fully back on track. 

Download Now!
Print Page to top