Defensive, but with deficits
BVB discovers a special quality
By Felix Meininghaus, Dortmund
08/07/2022, 3:11 p.m
In the hard-fought 1-0 win against Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund presented itself as a defensive unit willing to work hard for success. However, there are also playful deficits that BVB must correct if they want to attack at the top.
After the final whistle, Karim Adeyemi danced with his teammates in the center circle of the Dortmund stadium, which was packed with more than 81,000 spectators. The 20-year-old, who came from Salzburg a few weeks ago to start a new chapter in his young career in the Ruhr area, did so in adilettes and on one leg. The young national player had to hobble off the field early in the first game of the season against Bayer Leverkusen because he sustained a capsule injury on his foot after a foul. The fact that he returned to celebrate with his colleagues instead of being cared for says a lot about the working atmosphere in the newly formed BVB team.
A good distance away, Edin Terzic followed the activities of his team, the new and old Borussia coach had put his arm collegially around the shoulder of his assistant coach Sebastian Geppert. He must have liked what he saw, after all it corresponds exactly to the spirit that Terzic wants to implant in the public football company.
With its well-equipped squad, BVB should not only offer superior football art, but also present itself much more defensively than was the case under Terzic’s predecessor Marco Rose. In this respect, the hard-fought and in the end quite lucky 1-0 win over the Rhinelanders could be saved as particularly valuable, even if a lot of wishes were left unfulfilled after a good start. The good-humoured trainer later reported in the press conference that “the spark jumped over to the stands and back again”.
“No treat for the fans”
It is precisely this solidarity between fans and professionals that should carry the new Borussia forward this season. The credo of the 39-year-old, who comes from the small town of Menden in the Sauerland region, is: “It must never happen to us that someone is hungrier and more industrious than we are.”
That there was a lot of hard work and very little art to be observed – for free. “A little lack of structure,” said captain Marco Reus, who scored the goal of the day early in the game by pushing the ball that was on the line into the goal: “It’s not all working together yet.” In terms of play, it was “not a treat for the fans”, “but in the end there are three points and we’re happy to take them with us.”
It is this unconditional cohesion that brings back fond memories for those who mean well with Borussia, of blissful times when BVB played eleven years ago with no-name players like Kevin Großkreutz, Marcel Schmelzer, Neven Subotic and the young Mats Hummels stormed to the top. In terms of football, too, there was that Klopp football to be seen in the spirited early phase, which was rousing and made the coach rise to Dortmund’s pillar saint: fast, bustling and annoying for the opponent, who was constantly being attacked and put under stress.
As Borussia hinted at what is possible when the upgraded bolide BVB picks up speed. However, it was also clear to see how stuttering the engine was still running. Terzic liked how committed his players were to working against the ball, but at the same time he wished “that in future we’ll have to defend less because we give the ball away too quickly.”
Schlotterbeck dislocates his shoulder and one
As the game progressed, the deficits accumulated to such an extent that Dortmund needed a lot of stupidity and an outstanding goalkeeper Gregor Kobel to save the narrow and valuable lead tooth and nail over the finish line. “When you create as many situations as we did over 90 minutes, it’s annoying to go home empty-handed,” said Leverkusen coach Gerardo Seoane aptly.
Distorted in pain, Schlotterbeck had to flee into the catacombs.
(Photo: IMAGO/Kirchner Media)
Nico Schlotterbeck established himself as the new hero of work on the part of the hosts. The national player, who came from Freiburg, dislocated his shoulder in a duel, had it set in the cabin aisle in order to rush straight back onto the field to continue straddling. Schlotterbeck reported that he felt “brutal pain”, “but we won and kept a clean sheet. That’s exactly what you want as a man-marker.” The 22-year-old arrived at his new place of work in a very short time and is already being celebrated as a crowd favourite.
It’s “brutally fun to play on the yellow wall,” reported Schlotterbeck, he will “give everything here in the next few years.” Sentences like this also put a smile on Terzic’s face. A start has been made, but in just five days Freiburg will be testing how stable the new Borussia is. “We took a lot of issues with us,” said Terzic, “that we will work on in the coming training week.”