Bochum captain Anthony Losilla on being the Bundesliga's oldest player, and turning the season around against Bayern Munich
It’s fair to say that Bochum haven’t had a good start to the season, but it’s also reasonable to point out that anything is possible with Anthony Losilla as their captain.
The French midfielder is now in his 11th season at the Ruhrstadion and a club legend as their fifth highest appearance holder with 349 games. His iconic spell has included Bundesliga promotion and a number of stunning survivals, including last season from 3-0 down in the play-off.
Now the league’s oldest player, Losilla is looking to turn things around after the departure of head coach Peter Zeidler, but his side couldn’t have much harder task than the visit of record champions Bayern Munich. Still, anything is possible at Bochum, as Losilla discussed in an exclusive sit-down with bundesliga.com…
bundesliga.com: Bochum never give up in games, but often struggle to protect their leads. Why is that?
Anthony Losilla: “Yes, exactly. I agree with that. We have had chances to shut games down but we haven’t done so. We didn’t take our chances against Borussia Dortmund to go 3-0 up. We conceded a goal to make it 2-1 just before half-time, and that changed the game. And it was the same against Holstein Kiel. We had some good periods, especially between the 10th minute and half-time. We were 2-1 up but it wasn’t enough. We need to work on that. We tend to struggle in the period after the 60th minute. We need to do better because we are dropping points in those key phases of matches. We need to be more concentrated in order to pick up more points.”
Watch: Borussia Dortmund 4-2 Bochum - highlights
bundesliga.com: You face Bayern on Matchday 8. Bochum have beaten the record champions twice since promotion in 2021. What memories do you have of the spectacular 3-2 win earlier this year?
Losilla: “Those are great memories, of course. Winning against Bayern doesn’t happen very often. Obviously you need to have a great day to beat Bayern, and you need them to have an off day. That’s important too. But we have always been able to make it difficult for Bayern by implementing our game plan. That means pressing high up the pitch. They like to play out from the back, so if we can frustrate them early on in their build-up, that can work well. Sometimes they will play through the press, of course, and then we will find it challenging. But that has worked well twice now, and I think it will be key again.”
bundesliga.com: In terms of your personal record against Bayern, you have won twice and lost four times. Although you have been on the wrong end of 7-0 defeats three times in three years. Why is that?
Losilla: “I have the impression that all three of those games were the same. We start well in the first 10 minutes or so. But then they put the pressure on and go 1-0 up. We lose our confidence a bit and they get into their flow. When they are in full flow, every team struggles to stop them. If they have a good day and you are not 100 percent there, then you will encounter similar situations. You find yourself 4-0 down at half-time and then start to become frustrated. And that’s how you end up losing these matches 7-0. If I can win one of the matches against them in a season, I’ll happily lose the other 7-0.”
bundesliga.com: Could the match against Bayern represent a turning point for the team in this season?
Losilla: “Yes, it can only help us if we can put in a good performance against strong opponents like Bayern. Even if we narrowly lose, if we can make it hard for Bayern, that’s good. Like in the first half against Dortmund, it pushes us and shows that we can compete. So a good performance could help put us back on track. It won’t be easy but we have proven that we are capable in the past. Why not beat them again?”
Watch: Bochum 3-2 Bayern Munich - highlights
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bundesliga.com: You’re the oldest player in the league just ahead of rival captain Manuel Neuer. How do you keep performing at this level at the age of 38?
Losilla: “A large part of it is luck with injuries. It certainly helps if you are able to remain injury free. Manuel Neuer had a couple of serious injuries but has managed to come back stronger each time. I take my hat off to him as it’s not very easy. But our rhythm of games has been different. He's played in the Champions League for many years, which is different from my career. But you have to do everything you can on a daily basis to adjust to the rhythm. I give 100 percent in every training session. If I don’t give 100 percent, I lose that rhythm. That has my motto all my life long. Work hard on the pitch and then off the pitch, avoid those things that may harm your body.”
bundesliga.com: You signed a one-year contract extension at the start of the year and declared that you were focussed on enjoying the current season. How have you found it so far?
Losilla: “If you are nearing the end, you always look for the positives, even in difficult periods. You never know what will happen afterwards. I know that I will miss being out on the pitch every single day. So I come here every day with the mentality of: ‘football is fun’. Let’s try to enjoy every single minute out there. Because I will miss it. So that’s how I manage to enjoy the football, even though we are going through a challenging period.”
bundesliga.com: What will you miss most when you hang up your boots?
Losilla: “The daily routines, coming here, chatting to teammates, having breakfast together. These things that we do year after year. That’s what you miss most when you stop. You do it for years, you build relationships with the other players, with the staff members. That’s an important part of being a footballer, and that’s what I’ll miss. I’ll also miss the big games, of course. You play football for moments like that. But those daily activities will be what I miss most.”
bundesliga.com: Would you say that you have grown alongside Bochum over the last 10 years?
Losilla: “Yes, for sure. I don’t think anyone expected me to spend this long at the club, either the club or myself. But 10 years later, I feel a close connection to the club. I’ve had lots of different coaches, but some things don’t change. The values that make up VfL Bochum, the values that I can identify myself with. That is what really made the bond so strong. The club’s values are what I enjoy bringing out onto the pitch. That’s why there is such a deep connection. Every relationship develops over time and that’s no different for my relationship with Bochum."
bundesliga.com: What are your top three memories from your time at Bochum?
Losilla: “I would say promotion. We waited 11 years, and as captain I was able to lift the trophy. That was an amazing moment. Even though we couldn’t celebrate it with our fans [due to Covid-19]. But it still remains one of my best moments. And then our first season in the Bundesliga, where we secured our top-flight status with an away win in Dortmund. That was a beautiful moment. First season in the Bundesliga, and we secure another Bundesliga season at our neighbour’s place. That was great, celebrating with the fans afterwards. And then one year later against Bayer Leverkusen, the last game of the season. That was exceptional. The fans stormed onto the pitch to celebrate with us. And then even last season, there were moments, like in Düsseldorf. There have been many good moments but those will stay in my head forever.”
Watch: Losilla on promotion in 2021: "I'm lost for words"
bundesliga.com: What are your memories of the relegation play-off, 3-0 down in the first leg to staying up on penalties?
Losilla: “Those were tough games from an emotional standpoint. We weren’t expecting to go into the play-off. After our win against Bayern, we had a 10 or 12-point cushion. We thought we were safe. And then we went on a winless run. And we got into a bit of a negative cycle and we found ourselves just three points above the play-off place. And then all of a sudden, we dropped into the relegation play-off spot as other teams did their job and we didn’t. And then you have two games to decide your future. We were up against Düsseldorf, who had had a great season. They were on a positive run, whereas we had had little success in the run-up to the play-off. And then we lost the home game 3-0 at home.
Watch: Bochum's relegation rollercoaster
"We thought, what is going on here? How can we turn this around? We spent the days after that home defeat sitting together and discussing our options. We realised that we had nothing to lose at that point. Previously we had something to lose; but then we didn’t. So we decided to play our game and put the opponent under pressure. We thought that if we scored quickly, they might start to feel the pressure in front of their fans. They had already planned the promotion party, and suddenly we felt on the pitch that the tie had turned. The Düsseldorf players started to feel the pressure and let us play our game. We took advantage. We scored two great goals through [Philipp] Hofmann. He hadn’t scored for a few matches but had his moment then and took it. And [Kevin] Stöger was exceptional too. Everyone fought hard, everyone who came off the bench contributed. We were a united group out on the pitch and that made the difference in the match.”
bundesliga.com: Do you collect kits?
Losilla: “Sometimes, yes. But not for me; for my son. He likes to collect kits, mostly from Dortmund or Bayern. Those are the two big clubs. So since joining the Bundesliga, I’ve only swapped shirts with Bayern and Dortmund players. I am not the sort of person who will ask to swap shirts after a defeat. But my son puts pressure on me to ask, so I do it. He had two phases, initially he was a Bayern fan, but now he’s a Dortmund fan. But Bochum comes first, of course.”
bundesliga.com: What are your favourite ones? Do you have Neuer's?
Losilla: “Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham. I would say Bellingham as he is a midfielder and I love the way he plays. Neuer? Not yet. But my son would love to have his shirt so that’s my aim for the weekend.”
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