Saturday 14 August 2021
Championship “certainly a goal”
BVB vacillates between dreaming titles and humility
Borussia Dortmund also has a new coach, Marco Rose is. He has a lot to do at the start of the Bundesliga season. From far too few professionals who have trained with him, he has to form a team that will survive against Frankfurt. And at the same time underpins the title dreams.
Marco Rose actually wanted to bypass the challenge to FC Bayern. But it did come indirectly. “It makes little sense to talk about things that will happen in May next year,” said the new coach of the Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund. Then he added: “To win a championship, a lot of things have to fit together. We are working on that. That is certainly a goal that we are pursuing.”
In his words, Rose also indirectly reflects the mood around BVB. You could describe it as a yes-but-mood. After the strong second half of the season with the cup victory, there is a gentle optimism in Westphalia, the bumpy preparation of the Munich team has been followed very closely. In addition, Rose is to some extent considered the reincarnation of the revered Jürgen Klopp and raises hopes for a real era. On the other hand, after Rose’s crash with Gladbach in the past second half of the season, one or the other observer looks skeptical or waiting.
It is therefore very important for Rose and the club to quickly and clearly steer the mood in the right direction. “We have to get off to a good start,” said the coach. And it was more than a phrase. The opening game against Eintracht Frankfurt (6.30 p.m. / Sky and in the ntv.de live ticker) could also be a tricky one. BVB will be missing up to eight players, including well-known professionals such as Mats Hummels, Julian Brandt and Raphael Guerreiro.
“At the beginning only ten players”
There was hardly any time to rehearse the new Rose football in preparation. Also because of the many successful EM starters – seven Dortmunders made it to the quarter-finals. “At the beginning we only had ten players. And now we have some who have just had a real week of training behind them,” said the coach.
In addition, with Eintracht, what is currently perhaps the largest surprise bag in the league comes to Dortmund. After the celebrated 2-1 at BVB in April, the Hessians gambled away their Champions League participation in a long-distance duel with Dortmund and were divorced in the first round of the third division after the departure of their coach Adi Hütter, sports director Fredi Bobic and their goal scorer André Silva SV Waldhof Mannheim from. That makes the Hessians around the new coach Oliver Glasner unpredictable for Rose. “I do think that they are so solid that they will try to show a defiant reaction,” he said.
But Gregor Kobel, who was brought in from Stuttgart as the new regular goalkeeper, is an example of self-confidence. “We had a great squad and, despite the difficult circumstances, we had really good preparation games,” said the Swiss, who pushed his compatriots Marwin Hitz and Roman Bürki onto the bench and the stands. “We have a lot of quality. I’m really up for it to start.”
Like his coach, Kobel is sure to dream of the championship title after nine Bayern triumphs in a row. Like Rose, he formulates this dream diplomatically. “We are Borussia Dortmund. We want to win as many games as possible and get as far as we can everywhere.” The first mood test on Saturday will be an important guide.
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