Coach justifies himself
Terzic threatens to finally slip away from the crisis-hit BVB
December 8, 2023, 6:46 p.m
The pressure is increasing for BVB coach Terzić. The coach himself feels the same way. Against Leipzig he once again demands a reaction. He defends himself against criticism of playing too defensively. A professional who has long been written off and a U17 world champion now have a chance.
There is no sign of a sensual Advent season at Borussia Dortmund – and if there is another setback in the crisis duel against RB Leipzig, the tree could really burn. “For every coach there are pressure situations to win games and collect points. We know that the pressure is of course a little greater in Dortmund and of course I feel that too,” said Edin Terzić before the duel against the Saxons on Saturday (6.30 p.m. on Sky and in the live ticker on ntv.de).
The BVB coach is criticized for his team’s fearsome football in the lucky point win in Leverkusen and the sobering cup exit in Stuttgart. The accusation is: This style of play does not correspond to the DNA of the club. Terzić was partly insightful. Barricading yourself on the defensive is not “the DNA of our team, we know that,” said the 41-year-old. But his approach in Stuttgart was not “destructive and defensive”. “The biggest problem was what we did when we had the ball. That meant we had to defend a lot,” said Terzić.
“That’s not the DNA of our team either”
But he also confessed: “Against Munich, for example, we allowed a lot of chances.” After the experience of the devastating 4-0 defeat against FC Bayern a month ago, he believes that he only chose a more defensive orientation when the league leaders were also strong in attack. But this is by no means the generally new direction. In any case, the list of defects for the runner-up is long. In the last five league games there was only one win. BVB has lost its identity and its football development is questionable.
Some professionals also seem overplayed, and leading players like captain Emre Can are currently overwhelmed. Alternatives? Few and far between. This gives Thomas Meunier, who has already been retired, a new chance. “He did extremely well in training recently,” said Terzić about the Belgian, who seemed to have run out of options after the signings of Julian Ryerson and the so far disappointing Ramy Bensebaini. Now he gets it after all. “It’s now a matter of him using this now,” said Terzić. “We now have the situation where many players have lost us within days.”
“We will start another series now”
Before reuniting with former coach Marco Rose, Terzić is combative. “We started a great series two years ago, we started a series in the second half of the season. We will start a series again now,” assured Terzić. The clear task for him and the team is to bring in consistency. “It is particularly my job to think about solutions,” said Terzić. He should find this quickly. The beaming face of the Champions League this season doesn’t mean those responsible around managing director Hans-Joachim Watzke have any doubts about the coach. But if the league loses contact with the premier class places, that could change. In the event of a defeat against RB, the DFB Cup winners would move away from fourth place to four points.
“If the results aren’t right, things quickly become restless – especially with such an ambitious club,” said Rose. He therefore expects an “open fight” against “angry Dortmunders” who “don’t want to put up with the negative press”. However, the black and yellow team’s personnel problems are getting worse. After Felix Nmecha, Ryerson (injured medial knee ligament) and Youssoufa Moukoko (torn hamstring) are also out for the rest of the year. The use of the flexible Marius Wolf (ankle problems) is also unlikely against Leipzig.
Given the personnel situation, U17 world champion Paris Brunner will be part of the professional squad for the first time on Saturday. “That is the clear plan,” revealed Terzic. The youngster was suspended a few weeks ago for an unspecified incident, but has since been pardoned and is expected to be full of confidence after winning the World Cup in Indonesia. In order to create a little contemplative mood before the second Advent, his match plan also has to work.