FIRST TEAM
11/09/2011

Interview with Marvin Compper

No player at 1899 Hoffenheim has more appearances than Marvin Commper. The defender has become synonymous with the club, from its promotion to the Bundesliga, that superb run in the first half of the 2008-09 season and the club's establishment in the top flight. Achtzehn99.de caught up with the defender to ask him about his experiences, development at the club and prospects.

Marvin, you left Stuttgart to go to Mönchengladbach and have now settled at Hoffenheim. How did you find moving between those clubs?

I still have a few friends from my time at Stuttgart. I'm still in contact with Christian Gentner for example. And I learned a lot when I played there, I spent my formative years there. And then I spent five years at Gladbach, I met my wife there. I have a lot of fond memories from those places.

You moved to Hoffenheim in January 2008. What were your reasons?

The chance to play regular football was the main reason behind my moving. Ralf Rangnick also appealed to me a lot, and the chance to help take Hoffenheim into the Bundesliga was also an attraction.

You're the leading appearance maker in the Hoffenheim team, having played 132 times for the club. Do you feel like the ‘old head' in the side now?

(Laughing) I'm not that old yet! Playing regularly is invaluable though, and I'm pleased to have played so often for this club.

In a young team like Hoffenheim, that must be especially important.

Absolutely. And we do have a young team, but there are also plenty of experienced players to give the younger players a word of advice when they need it.

What have you learned from your experiences as a player?

I've become more patient, first of all. But I've also remained an ambitious player. Getting that balance right is something you learn gradually – wanting to improve and taking every step you can to make yourself a better player, that's something that professionals really have to stay focused about.

How does a player become more professional?

That's a difficult question. Speaking from experience, however, I'll admit that I used to be a very casual person. Now I take things more seriously. But if I make a mistake in a game, I forget about it, carry on and try to deliver the best performance I can. In my younger days I might have tried to atone for a mistake by playing a risky pass. Now I just forget it when I make an error and just try to keep my concentration.

Last season you played in various positions in the back four, but now you're playing regularly in the centre of defence. How is that working out for you?

I think it helped me playing in those positions last season, and I think the fact we rotated has helped us be more organised in defence this year. It helps the guys in front of us in midfield too. We all work together, and we win and lose together.

How has the role of a defender changed in the last few years?

Modern football places a lot of emphasis on the counter-attack. And the game has become has become so much faster. Stats show that most goals today are scored within 10 seconds of a team winning the ball. So if you lose the ball, you have to get back so quickly. You can't switch off for a second in this league.

What is more important for a young team like Hoffenheim? Is it that the young players are so ambitious, or is there also a risk that they don't have much experience?

The chance to educate young players is definitely something I like being part of. There are a lot of teams who've played with young sides. Just look at Arsenal in 2006. They had a very young team and they reached the Champions League final. So there's a good incentive for us to keep with the youthful strategy right now.

Where do you see a need for improvement?

The basic thing is that we need to cut out the individual mistakes, because a lot of those errors have led to us conceding. We have to be a bit more ruthless in front of goal as well. We've had opportunities but we haven't scored enough.

What have you made of Hoffenheim's season so far, and what can the side achieve?

There have been a few games where we've performed poorly, like the games against Köln and Schalke. But in the rest of the games we've lost, we could have won the match. With a bit more consistency in our performances, we can have a very successful year.

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