Too Many Goals Allowed: Braunschweig Trains with the Football Team

Eintracht Braunschweig has conceded twelve goals in its last three competitive matches in the 2. Bundesliga and the DFB Cup. To address this weakness, coach Lars Kornetka has enlisted some special help ahead of the important home game against Dynamo Dresden (Saturday, 1:00 p.m./Sky).

Several players from the Braunschweig Lions American football team and their coach, Brayden McCombs, joined the professional soccer players’ practice this week to offer them tips on proper defensive tactics. With twelve titles, the Lions are the record champions of the German Football League (GFL).

Kornetka’s goal: “To be there when it counts.”

“We were lucky that Brayden found the time and even brought a few of his guys along on his own initiative,” said Kornetka. “We worked with them, and they showed us a bit about how they handle things in their day-to-day athletic lives. We tried to pick up a few things from that.”

In American football, there are “aspects that go beyond tactics,” said Kornetka. “It’s about physicality, it’s perhaps also about attitude, and it’s about paying attention. That’s definitely something we can take away: being there when it counts. That might also play a role sometimes in set-piece situations.” Of the many goals conceded against VfL Osnabrück (1–3), Hertha BSC (3–5), and Union Berlin (2–4), Braunschweig gave up four from corner kicks alone.