Kompany, Rosę, and Dreesen react to Magdeburg attack: "Hard to focus on football." | OneFootball

Kompany, Rosę, and Dreesen react to Magdeburg attack: "Hard to focus on football." | OneFootball

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·21 December 2024

Kompany, Rosę, and Dreesen react to Magdeburg attack: "Hard to focus on football."

Article image:Kompany, Rosę, and Dreesen react to Magdeburg attack: "Hard to focus on football."

Vincent Kompany and Marco Rose found themselves fielding plenty of non-football related questions following last night's Bundesliga fixture between FC Bayern München and RB Leipzig. The brutal attack on a Christmas Market in the capital of Saxon-Anhalt broke shortly before kick-off. FCB trainer Vincent Kompany conceded it was difficult to focus on football whilst speaking at his post-match press conference.

"It's nearly impossible to talk about football," Kompany said. "In this moment, given what just happened, the people of Magdeburg are naturally in our thoughts. A straightforward priority is simply to achieve peace here in Germany and the world."


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"We're wrapping up this [calendar year]," Kompany continued. "and I hope for a more peaceful 2025. We won today, but those are my thoughts."

For Leipzig trainer Rose, the attack hit particularly close to home. The East German native didn't wish to discuss his team's loss at all. The attack, the result, and what appeared to be a serious injury to RB fullback Benjamin Henrichs near the end of proceedings left him in a highly reflective mood.

"Do we even want to talk about football today?" Rose rhetorically asked his DAZN interviewer tonight. "I just received horrible news from from what's more-or-less my homeland. Somehow, the result and everything else filters through a different light."

"Yes, we deservedly lost," Rose continued. "Yes, we lost by a lot. But there were other things that happened today that simply weren't nice. I don't want to take about football. I'd rather look inward."

Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen confirmed that Bayern players had all been informed of the incident after the full-time whistle. As a result, post-match celebrations in front of the FanKurve were tempered. Dreesen himself addressed the Kurve, saying that celebrations and cheering "do not conform to this moment".

A moment's silence - followed by a rendition of "Stille Nacht" - took place instead. Leipzig players, per a statement from Dreesen in the mixed zone, initially didn't call off their visit to the traveling supporters because "they didn't yet know what had happened."

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