After more than a decade as a professional footballer, Thomas Broich has learnt firsthand all the elements that contribute to a team’s success.
The former FC Koln and FC Nuremberg midfielder spent years in the domestic leagues of his native Germany but said he-s now enjoying the best form of his career in the Hyundai A-League with current pace-setters Brisbane Roar.
An integral part of Brisbane-s mobile, goal-bearing midfield, Broich-s impact has been felt across the country and the playmaker has contributed to the Roar-s premiership win with five goals and 12 assists.
Now one match into their finals campaign, avoiding a loss this weekend in the second leg of the major semi-final against Central Coast Mariners would see Broich and his teammates stretch their run without a loss to 27 matches.
“We-ve built a lot of confidence over the whole season and it-s now 26 in a row that we are unbeaten,” he said.
“I think it-s maybe a once in a lifetime experience and we want to keep it going as long as possible.”
While some sportspeople would view even mentioning the undefeated streak as a recipe for disaster, Broich was philosophical when describing what he believed was the formula for success on the park.
“You can mention (the unbeaten streak), but you can-t change your habits,” he said.
“It-s all about performance, discipline and hard work.
“If we stick it our game plan and our team spirit, the results will follow.”
Broich-s outlook on the situation was simple, indicating the aspects of football that he could control were the most important in his team-s fight for grand final glory.
“There are things that we have to do and I mentioned them before,” Broich said.
“All the rest, I don-t care about – which boot I put on first, who is the ref, I don-t care.
“Some footballers are superstitious but I am not, I focus on our abilities and our attitude.”
Full of confidence ahead of Saturday-s crucial match-up with the Mariners, Broich was looking forward to returning to Suncorp Stadium, struggling to find a reason that indicated his team wouldn-t be able to hold onto their 2-0 advantage.
“I expect a hard game but on the other hand, they will do the exact same thing they did last week and we were able to get a result still so I am confident,” he said.
“It-s our home game, it-s our crowd, it-s our stadium, a big pitch – it will all suit us.”
