Eric Smith on how to stop Harry Kane when St. Pauli meet Bayern Munich
Eric Smith has been one of St. Pauli's shining stars since their return to the Bundesliga, but will the Sweden centre-back be able to stop Harry Kane on Saturday?
St. Pauli welcome Bayern to the Millerntor with a respectable two wins and two draws from their nine games so far, but the record champions remain out in front, leading the table with 15 more points than their hosts.
Smith knows he has his work cut out against Kane and Co., but he has adjusted well to life in the German top-flight. bundesliga.com sat down with Smith to get his thoughts on Saturday's game and much more besides…
bundesliga.com: With eight points from nine games, how do you look back on the start to the season?
Smith: “Start of the season was not great. Obviously, we knew that it was going to be a step up from last season, but I think slowly we are getting somewhere near to understanding to what is needed from us to get points in this league. But, I think we still have a lot of things we need to get better on, but like you said, we managed to win at least two games. Both of them away from home, which is not very easy, so we should be super proud about that. But then, I think a common goal of us is to get even more points at home because we have a huge support when we play at home and I think normally we are very hard to beat there. So, I think that is something we really need to look into and try to get better and to get even harder to beat at home and to score some goals there as well.”
bundesliga.com: How difficult is it to get used to this league and how big is the difference between Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2?
Smith: “I think the punishment when you make a mistake. That is probably the biggest difference because when we make a mistake here they tend to score goals. You can get away a little bit more with that in the second league, but the quality of the players in the first league is obviously a little bit better in those situations. So, I think that is the hardest lesson we have been taught so far. I would say the tempo is also a little bit quicker but the main reason or the main difference I would say is how you get punished when you make mistakes.”
Watch: Smith scored a wondergoal in defeat to Dortmund
bundesliga.com: What are your memories of the celebrations and parties this summer, what were the most emotional and moving moments?
Smith: “The most emotional moment was probably when I got so bluff against Osnabrück. Me and Fabi (Fabian Hürzeler) had a little bit of an anger issue, but I would say after that – thinking back, when we finished the game in Wiesbaden, being 1-0 down and we were playing against a team that really needed to win and we were able to climb back up in that game and get the win and to be able to finish first in the league is something I really look back to and think 'wow, that was really strong from us'. It is something I take great pride in, that our group was able to achieve.”
bundesliga.com: What do you think, after 14 years, how much does the return to this league mean to the club and even more important for the fans?
Smith: “I think a lot. When you are a football club you always want to compete against the best teams in the world. I think we have the opportunity to do that this year and hopefully we can do that in a lot of years to come, but obviously the first year is always the hardest. We are really trying hard to stay here for our fans and for this whole organisation to grow and to get bigger in every direction.”
bundesliga.com: The fans are more or less the heart and soul of this football club, how would you describe and characterise them?
Smith: “Unbelievable. That is the word I would describe them as. They support us in whatever happens, as long as we put our hearts out there they will always support us, no matter the result. So, nothing but praise to them. You feel that support every time we play at home, every time we play away we have a full away stand. I am beyond surprised at the moment, but I think it is unbelievable. You can’t ask for anything else. So, they are unbelievable in all kinds of ways.”
Watch: No club quite like St. Pauli
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bundesliga.com: St. Pauli is even without winning titles or superstars an internationally recognised and beloved club. What would you say, what makes this club so special?
Smith: “I think it is – like you said, our fans is obviously that gets people to see 'wow, they have a big, big support' and like you said, worldwide as well. I think it is obviously also what the club stands for in terms of politics and where our club sees human rights and everything. So, I think how open St. Pauli is with this and highlighting the problems and the solutions in these case that makes us so different than other clubs.”
bundesliga.com: The Millerntor stadium is basically downtown, in an apartment area and bars, restaurants and red-light district right around the corner. How unique and crazy makes that playing here?
Smith: “Of course, it is unique. When I first came here, I didn’t really realise it because it was during corona. I wasn’t really able to see that and you didn’t see that many people walking around the stadium. I think for me it is mostly two years ago when I started to realise how big the support and everything around the stadium is. How different it is from other places. Personally, I think it is super cool that you are able to have a very big stadium in the middle of something like that. I think it is really cool and it is also very nice for our fans to be able to be in the city centre and still be that close to our arena. To be able to walk there and it is easy to get to the arena and see everything. It is very cool.”
bundesliga.com: Back to football, St. Pauli haven’t scored at home in their first four games, the goal song “Song 2” by Blur has yet to be played this season, how annoying is that fact?
Smith: “It is a good song, you want to hear it as much as possible, so it is a little bit annoying, but like said, I think it is just a matter of time before it comes. Obviously, we have a huge test coming this week, but I am sure it will come eventually when we work as hard as we do. It is just a matter of time.”
bundesliga.com: What are the odds that this will change Saturday against Bayern Munich?
Smith: “I think they are no superhumans, although it is the best club in Germany in my thinking, but there are always ways to hurt them as well and we are going to try to explore that and try our best. But of course, when you play against that good players you need to be 100 per cent. When we get a chance we need to score. So, like you said, it is going to be difficult, but hopefully we are capable and able to score, keep a clean sheet and then we will see what happens.”
bundesliga.com: What will be the approach for that game, just trying to limit the damage or is there a way of hurting Bayern?
Smith: “No, I think when we play at home it should never be. Of course, we know that probably we won’t have that much of the ball. They will probably have the ball more than us, but then it is about us to find solutions how to hurt them when we don’t have the ball and when we do win the ball how to hurt them. Probably quick and fast and try to counterattack on them. Then like I said, the most important thing is to try and keep a clean sheet as long as possible because then things can always happen in football. Hopefully, we will manage to do that. We played at Dortmund in the cup a couple of years ago when we were in the second league as well and we were not in a good place in the league. So, we know everything can happen, especially when we play at home.”
bundesliga.com: You will have to deal with a lot of top shelf players, Harry Kane among them. Is that a very special moment that you’ve been waiting for and is there any way of stopping him?
Smith: “Obviously not, he is one of the best strikers in the world, so it is going to be tough, but I think if we are able to stop the players around him, then we can limit him as well. Of course, when you play against the best players in the world there is only so much you can do. If they have their day, it is going to be difficult. We know that, but we will try to make the guys around him feel unsecure and unable to give him the ball in the areas he wants. Of course, it is not only him when we play against Bayern Munich because they have probably some of the best players in the world in almost every position. So, it is going to be difficult, but we have to try and limit them as much as possible and make them do stuff that they are not that comfortable with.”
bundesliga.com: Coaches Alex Blessin and also Fabian Hürzeler last year always emphasised how important you are for St. Pauli’s game. How would you define your role and what makes you so essential for this team?
Smith: “Difficult question. I feel like it is better to ask the coaches that. I don’t know. I play in a central position on the pitch and then obviously you tend to be a little bit more involved in every situation during the games. Especially when we were in the second league we had the ball a little bit more and then my qualities were probably used a little bit more that they are at the moment, when we are playing against better teams. I think then I had a bigger role in creating offense for our team, but I think this year it has changed a little bit because like I said we are not that dominant with the ball anymore, which we knew was going to happen. So, I think my role has changed a little bit this year and it is a little bit more defensive and that is something I am trying to adapt to, but why is difficult to say. The coaches have been really believing in me since the first day I came here and then you get confidence and I have been able to play every single game when I have been healthy. I am super thankful for that and it gives me confidence, so maybe that also helps me playing quite well and then you get a bigger role in the team.”
bundesliga.com: Is quarterback a term that pretty much describes it best?
Smith: “I don’t know. Maybe last year, not this year, but yes, maybe.”
bundesliga.com: Injuries unfortunately are also part of your career. How much has that stopped you from being an even better player than you are?
Smith: “Certainly it has put some breaks on the development. It is always tough, it is tougher mentally because I haven’t had a really big injury, it has always been three or four weeks maximum, so hopefully we can stay like that. Of course, it takes some speed out of your development, it does. But, I have been trying to work hard every single day to come back when I got the injuries and I think that I am in a good place now. Sometimes, it is maybe also good to get your head to rest, when it is not that long. So, maybe it can also give you time and space to think about the game and also think about what you can develop when you get back into the game and you can watch football in a little bit of a different way. Because when you are not injured it is going full speed all the time and it is game after game. I don’t know, it is hard to say. Obviously, you don’t know if I would be even better or even worse. I just try to focus when I am fit and able to play as good as possible.”
bundesliga.com: Are there any special things that you are doing to prevent these injuries or at least minimise the risk of them?
Smith: “Yes, a lot. Every morning I am with our physiotherapists to do exercises for my abductors, for my hamstrings, for my knees and calves and everything else I have been injured in. So, it takes a lot of time and then also after trainings I am doing a lot of stuff in the gym, going into the ice bath and doing all these kind of things. I also bought some recovery pants that I will hopefully receive next week. So, there is a lot of things you can do, but I am trying to not do too much as well because I always feel that when you are not in the training facilities and you are not playing games, you need to try to get your head to not thinking about football because when you do that, at least for me, it gets too much and then I can’t play as freely as I want to. I think you can play the best football you can when you are relaxed and you are free in your head, so that is something I am striving towards as well.”
bundesliga.com: Your wife gave birth to a little daughter in September, how much has that changed your perspective of daily life?
Smith: “Very much, a lot. It was the best day of my life for sure when that happened and it still is. Every day is unbelievable. You really understand what people have been talking about when you listen to other guys saying, “I am so tired, I am this and that, I didn’t sleep, this and that”, but all that work is the best work I think you can do as a human being and I absolutely love it, even though I am extremely tired most of the mornings when I get here. Normally, it takes until I am out on the pitch and get fresh air until I really wake up and I am able to train. Like you said it has also only been two months, so I don’t know how I will feel in four months, but at the moment I am really loving it and I am sure I will do in the future as well.”
bundesliga.com: Back to football, what are your hopes and ambitions with this team, will it be a relegation battle all season long?
Smith: “Difficult to say. I think we can see in the games where we have been able to get results that we are very solid defensively, we are hard to score goals on. So, I think if we can mix that with getting a little bit more goals offensively we can be very hard to beat and I think when we get that rolling - of course now we are going into a stretch with very difficult games. Now Bayern obviously and then we have two games that are very important for us. I think it is Gladbach and Kiel and then we go with some tougher fixtures you can have. But I think it is all about getting that confidence in the group and understanding this is the level we need to reach to be able to get points. I think we are starting to find that rhythm and we starting to find the idea or we understand more what is that we have to do to be able to get points in this league at the moment. I think the closer we get to everyone understanding that the harder we will be to beat and the more points we will have. Of course, for me, we are not going into the season saying we want to be fifth. We want to stay in the league and we understood that and we understood that there are teams that have been longer here. That they have not better but more experienced players in this league. So, of course, it is hard to say that we will be in the middle in five games, but hopefully we will be able to get some air between us and the teams that are in the bottom and get some breathing space or whatever you want to call it. It will be a tough season for sure.”
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