#B04eSports: Marc and Sean Landwehr interview before the start of the VBL-CC season

"We're going to have another go next year," announced Sean 'SEAN_LDW07' Landwehr after the narrow defeat against RB Leipzig in the VBL CC final in March. Today, Thursday 16 October, he and his cousin Marc 'MARC_LDW23' Landweh can put these words into action. That's when the new season of the virtual Bundesliga kicks off, with a number of new features.

On the first matchday, Marc and Sean will face last season's semi-final opponents, SC Paderborn 07 - "secret favourites", as Sean says. An overview of the other opponents on matchday one can be found in our opponents profile.

Hello Marc, hello Sean. The last VBL Club Championship season ended for you with a narrow defeat in the final. What were you able to take away from the season, including for the new season?

Marc: We’ve learnt how to motivate ourselves, especially in bad times. A lot of training also helps us to get back on track. The fact that we were at least on a par with strong opponents and almost won the title felt good. We definitely want to build on that.

Sean, you said after the final that every VBL club has you in their sights after that good season. What are your goals for the new campaign? Are you one of the favourites?

Sean: We finished runners-up and naturally we want to compete at the top again. That's why I think every club will have respect for us. But we're looking after ourselves and definitely want to qualify for all the offline showdowns and, of course, the club final. But I would particularly like to go to the Grand Final play-offs, the individual championship. I've never managed that before.

There are some big changes in the VBL CC. There are no more divisions, instead there are showdowns. In addition, there are no more 2v2 games, only 1v1 games. What do you think?

Sean: We won every 1v1 match in the final of the last VBL-CC season, so I would see this change as a clear advantage, even though I've always enjoyed playing 2v2. In preparation for the matches, the elimination of 2v2 means we will train less together.

Marc: I think it's good there are more games during the week where you can pick up points. Nevertheless, you can't afford to have a bad day because half the preliminary round of a showdown is already over by then. I also like the offline events after the preliminary round, even if travelling to them will be a bit difficult for working people like me. Nevertheless, our goal is, of course, to reach the offline phase of every showdown.

The opponents for the first matchday have already been decided, including last year's semi-final opponents SC Paderborn 07. What chances do you think you have against them?

Sean: Paderborn are potential secret favourites for me. I do believe that they can compete at the very top. It will be very difficult against them, but we will still win. The other opponents are also all very strong, but we still want to beat them and go to the offline event of the showdown.

You have the Bayer 04 players Christian Kofane and Patrik Schick as so-called ‘VBL Power Items’ with a maximum total strength of 99. Why the two of them and who else is in your line-up for the first matchday?

Sean: Tall strikers have always been an advantage in recent years, especially if you hit a lot of crosses. We've already tested the two of them and it works very well.

Marc: I also have Jarell Quansah in central defence and Konrad Laimer (Bayern Munich) at right back. In midfield I use the icon version of Lothar Matthäus, Angelo Stiller (VfB Stuttgart) and Johan Bakayoko (RB Leipzig).

What does a typical week look like for you? How much do you train and what else do you do away from the console?

Marc: I work, so I often have an early shift. Then I work from six in the morning to two in the afternoon, have a short rest and then play for at least three to four hours. Every now and then I have football training.

Sean: I'm studying, so I don't have to get up so early(laughs). Otherwise, my everyday life is similar. We play a lot ourselves and mainly concentrate on our game in preparation. We also analyse the strengths of our opponents before the matchdays.

The new EA FC 26 was recently released, what differences do you see compared to the last version? Do you have any tips for amateur players?

Marc: The game is very similar to EA FC 25, except that defending is much more difficult and there are significantly more goals. Smaller strikers are also more effective here than last year. We had to find our feet a bit, but we're getting on very well now.

Sean: One tip from me is not to select the centre-backs, but to let the computer defend passively. You should also pull the central midfielders back when playing against the ball. The 'Tiki Taka' style of play is also very effective with the players in the centre.

Which three players are insider tips for EA FC 26?

Sean: Is Claudia Pina still an insider tip?(laughs) Moisés Caicedo from Chelsea is also very good, as is Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona. I can also recommend Tijjani Reijnders from Manchester City and Giorgi Mamardashvili from Liverpool as the boss in goal.