Dost: 'We can really play'
Wolfsburg - Bas Dost has more than one reason to be cheerful after helping VfL Wolfsburg to a dominant 3-0 success over FC Schalke 04 on Friday night.
The Dutchman’s opener on Matchday 3 represented his 16th of the calendar year - a Bundesliga best-mark - as the Wolves moved top of the standings for the first time since August 2009. bundesliga.com was on hand to jot down his post-match thoughts from the Volkswagen Arena…
Question: After the game, your coach Dieter Hecking said the team had made gigantic strides in covering ground and moving the ball quickly. Apart from scoring the goal, what was your role in the game?
Bas Dost: It’s not often I do that job [press], and at half time I was exhausted. Max Kruse and I said to each other that we wouldn’t let Johannes Geis get unto the game at all, and we managed to do that really well. In the second half there were a few things I could have done better and I could have scored a second, but I’m very happy with how the first half went.
Question: That’s already your second goal of the season and 16th this year - a Bundesliga best-mark. Were you surprised to have so much space for your goal?
Dost: Firstly I just want to say that Christian Träsch played brilliantly today. The last few months haven’t been easy for him. He was in the same situation that I once was. Sometimes you play, sometimes you’re not in the squad, and then you play again. Christian was the man of the match for me. He was sublime. He whipped in a perfect cross for the goal and I was there in a decent amount of space. I was a bit surprised. You only get that amount of space once or twice in a game and then you have to stick it away.
Question: With seven points from three games, Wolfsburg have made their best ever start to a season. What have you made of the first three games?
Dost: Firstly I’m really happy with the performance against Schalke. To be honest, we played really badly in the first two games. That’s not how it should be with the squad we have, but we still picked up four points. Today we dominated and not against any old team, but against Schalke. You saw today that we can really play.
Question: Now there’s an international break. Do you need a break already or would you rather have carried on playing?
Dost: A break’s always nice. Unfortunately I haven’t been called up by the Netherlands. I would have liked to carry on playing. I’m looking at the table and right now we’re champions (laughs).
Question: Will you be happy when the transfer window finally closes on 2 September?
Dost: I have no problem with it. I know that I'm staying.
