"Queens Park Rangers are a real cult club"

Toni Leistner, 27, moved from Union Berlin to English second-flight club Queens Park Rangers in the summer and is now preparing with his new side to face TSG Hoffenheim in Eppingen on Saturday (17:00 CET). Speaking in an interview with achtzehn99.de, the defender discussed his excitement for the friendly, his coach Steve McClaren and his reunion with former team-mate Vincenzo Grifo.

Toni, you left Union Berlin to join Queens Park Rangers in London in the summer. How did the transfer come about?

"It's always been my dream to play in England, which is why I've also turned down offers from the Bundesliga. Queens Park Rangers are a great club with a lot of tradition and everyone in England knows them – they're a real cult club. And London is both a popular and pleasant place to live. I've only been there for around six weeks but it's already been a super experience and I'm very delighted to have joined the club."

What are you expecting from Saturday's game?

"I'm really looking forward to the match. It's nice to be back in Germany for a few days and to speak some German. It'll be an important experience for us as a team, TSG will demand everything of us. Obviously our players know that Hoffenheim are playing in the Champions League and finished above Dortmund in the Bundesliga. So there's a sense of respect, but we'll need to put that aside in the game. Hoffenheim had a fantastic second half of the season and, in my eyes, are pursuing one of the greatest football ideas in the league, with everything perfect planned tactically from the front to the back. But we'd like to inconvenience one of the best German coaches and his team a bit."

Reunion with Vincenzo Grifo

The man in the dugout at QPR is Steve McClaren, the former English national team coach and the ex-VfL Wolfsburg manager. What's it like working together?

"I'm currently the only new signing from outside the club. He flew to Berlin specially to meet me and immediately convinced me with his footballing ideas. We want to move the ball about more than other teams in the division do. He's already worked in the Championship for some time and he knows the league well. The club has positioned itself well for the upcoming years with him at the helm."

How are your preparations, are you ready for TSG?

"It's going very well on a sporting level too, we've won each of our three previous friendlies and not conceded a goal in the process. Our pre-season preparations kicked off at the end of June and our new season starts on 4 August. It's similarly robust to the second division in Germany, but here you often come away from training with one or two more bruises. There are fewer breaks too, which is why I find the training to be even more intense. The match against Hoffenheim will be the highlight of our pre-season. It's great to be able to take on such a good team. Furthermore, I played alongside Vincenzo Grifo at Dynamo Dresden in 2014. He's an outstanding footballer and I'm looking forward to seeing him again."

What's your aim for the season?

"It'd be nice to finish in the top third of the league. We have a young and hungry team. When we play a young vs. old match in training, we sometimes have 23-year-olds on the older team. We hope we can be a team to spring a few surprises, but we'll need to find the consistency we were lacking last season if we're to do that."