FCA have been preparing for the opening DFB-Pokal match against MTV Eintracht Celle on Saturday (15:30 CEST) since the start of the week. In an interview with FCA TV, coach Heiko Herrlich discusses pre-season, new arrival Robert Gumny, and the upcoming game against the Oberliga side.

Following around six weeks of exhausting pre-season preparations, the first competitive game of the season is almost upon us. “The anticipation is slowly building,” emphasises coach Heiko Herrlich.”When you have to prepare for so long, you just want to play a proper match again that actually means something.”

The 48-year-old is pleased with his team’s preparations. “We were able to implement a lot of what we’ve practiced in training in the friendlies,” concludes Herrlich ahead of the match. Even despite losing 1-0 in last Saturday’s test against Ajax, the coach takes a lot of positives from the match. “We’ve shown that we can create chances even against strong teams while staying solid in defence, which is something we want to carry over into the season.”

Herrlich on Gumny: “Lots of potential to develop”

Saturday sees the first test of the new season for FCA as MTV Eintracht Celle are the guests at the WWK ARENA in the first round of the DFB-Pokal. “From a sporting point of view, the weekend is a matter of life or death, of getting ahead or dropping out,” stresses Herrlich. He cites last season's first-round exit against SC Verl as a warning. “Obviously we want to get off to a better start than last year and get the early obstacle of Celle out of the way.”

New arrival Robert Gumny, who was in action on Tuesday for Poland U21s, could make his debut against the team from the Oberliga. “We tried out a few different players in this position in pre-season. Alongside Raphael Framberger, Robert is an absolute specialist,” says Herrlich of the new right winger. “He’s scarily quick, strong technically, and he’s got lots of potential to develop.”

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