"To establish our place at the top table"</p> <div class="txt_fliesstext_bold">With the odd, short interruption, Edmund Becker has been in the service of Karlsruher SC for more than 30 years now.</div> As a player, he made 94 Bundesliga- and 63 2. Bundesliga appearances for KSC. In January 2005 Becker, then in charge of the KSC amateurs, was promoted to head coach, with the club in a 2. Bundesliga relegation slot. Becker staved off demotion to the regional league and since then the club's fortunes have been on a decidedly upward trajectory.</p> Promotion 2007 After finishing 2004-2005 in 11th place, KSC missed out on promotion on the very last day of the following season. In 2006-2007, they stormed to the 2. Bundesliga title and have marked their return to the top flight with five wins in their first eight matches, leaving them currently third in the table. bundesliga.de: Herr Becker, belated congratulations on your 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund. Edmund Becker: Thank you. bundesliga.de: If anyone had said to you back in January 2005, when you took over as head coach, that within two-and-a-half years KSC would be third in the Bundesliga - how would you have reacted? Becker: (laughs) They must be nuts, or daydreaming - something along those lines. Hard to say anything really. It just wasn't imaginable. bundesliga.de: Before the start of this season either? Becker: No, not the way we've come off the starting blocks and, more precisely, taken maximum points in five games. I wouldn't have thought it possible, to be honest. Especially when you look at our early-season schedule. There were some big names there. It's great, and not something I would have expected. bundesliga.de: So what would you put your side's great form down to? Becker: I'm not staking my life on it, but I think we struck paydirt with our new signings. Tamas Hajnal, for example, who is playing really well at the moment and has been pivotal to our success - as part of the team, of course. Also, we've so far always been able to learn something from a defeat. Against Leverkusen, for example, we realised that if the players don't play to their potential and above all aren't prepared to put in the legwork, and the tackles, you don't have a chance in the Bundesliga. What's important is to have a squad composed of team players in the real sense, who give their all in every game. bundesliga.de: The team spirit was one of KSC's great strengths last season. Is that something you as a coach can work on or do such things come automatically? Becker: It's a combination of factors. In terms of leadership club, what's needed is a steady hand. A constructive exchange rather than monologues on the sporting side of things. I think our coaching staff lead by example with regard to team spirit - an aspect I view as very important. We value order and discipline, but at the same time give the team their own space and involve them in the decision-making process. And we have people in the team who are steadying influences. bundesliga.de: You mentioned Tamas Hajnal. Did you expect him to show such good form so soon in the Bundesliga? Becker: It's not something you could have predicted, of course. We went after Tamas because he played an excellent game against us on matchday 2. We wanted him as a replacement for Giovanni (Federico, now at Dortmund, ed.) and that worked out. A footballer needs to feel comfortable in his environment, he will then perform better. So far, it's gone well. bundesliga.de: 15 points from eight games...where are KSC headed this season? Becker: Eight games, 15 points - that's really great, but no grounds to ease up, of course. The slightest degree of complacency and things will take a turn for the worse for sure. We will be touching on that in training and team talks this week - that we can't afford to let up. Our season's goal remains the same. We want to stay in the Bundesliga, to be a part of it next season as well. We've had a taste of the fantastic stadiums and the atmosphere. That in itself should be motivation enough for any player to go that extra yard, to keep trying to improve in training. We want to establish our place at the top table. bundesliga.de: So no point in asking you at the moment if there is any other goal beyond staying up this season? Becker: No, it's still too early for that. Things can change too quickly in football. Look at Borussia Dortmund. A week ago, a win could have put them at the top of the table. We have to aim for stability. And to achieve that, we need a few more results yet. bundesliga.de: From which I take it that terms such as "UEFA Cup" or even "Champions League" should not fall lightly from the lips... Becker: (laughs) I would have a fit. Against Hannover, for example, on matchday two, I got really annoyed when the provisional table flashed up with us on top! That kind of thing has no basis in reality. Very irritating. You have to keep your feet on the ground. Not talk yourself down, but success and failure are so fleeting, and often separated by so little - it's best not to lean too far out the window.</p> </p> </p>
Re: Nice interview.</p> </p> Karlsruhehave the only club in German history to lead the 2. Bundesliga table from start to finish and that was last season. They will not sit down and be quiet as the club is certainly on the rise and doing fairly well so far in the Bundesliga early on. They've even picked up a nice win over Baden rivals and defending Bundesliga champions Stuttgart. That was a huge win, though of course we can expect the Stuttgart team to pick up soon and compete for the title down the stretch like last season. They have Super Mario afterall. Back to KSC though, they should not be looked at as easy opponents.</p>
Re: They play Schalke next. Not an easy match. A tie would be great with them. A win would be excellent.</p>
