Sunday, January 09, 2022
Mentality victory in Frankfurt
Annoyed BVB does not want to talk about Bavaria
By Stephan Uersfeld
With two very late goals, Borussia Dortmund turns the game in Frankfurt, prevents a false start into the new year and is suddenly Bayern hunter again. At least that is what football Germany dreams of. But BVB doesn’t want to talk about it. “Bavaria, Bavaria, Bavaria,” complains Emre Can.
Two late goals made the difference for Borussia Dortmund. With their goals, Jude Bellingham and Mahmoud Dahoud ensured only the fourth Bundesliga away win for Westphalia this season and thus triggered another shadow race for the championship. The short form does indeed sound tempting: Bayern Munich is stumbling and the remaining competition, i.e. Borussia Dortmund, is there.
On closer inspection, however, the chances of a real title fight are about as great as those of another BVB year for Norwegian superstar Erling Haaland. Too obvious, too blatant were the renewed defense problems of the Black and Yellows in the 3: 2 (0: 2) at Eintracht Frankfurt, who not only scored two goals with their first scoring chances, but also, like so many teams before them, the same mistakes that were made forever Borussia could take advantage. Loss of the ball when building up the game, unnecessary fouls in dangerous situations, unfortunate defensive behavior. Defects that run through the entire Dortmund season.
Things are going better with Reus at the head office
“That is the really big issue for us. We are not allowed to give away any goals. We constantly concede goals from situations that are not allowed to fall. That was the case today with both goals, it happened in Berlin and also in Munich”, analyzed defender Mats Hummels after the game: “That happens too often to us. We have to put stability at the top of our agenda if we want to achieve something.”
Hummels said Julian Brandt’s pass and Emre Can’s foul before the free kick, which after 15 dominant Dortmund minutes led to the Frankfurt opening goal by Rafael Borré, and the long chain of mistakes before the 0: 2, also by Borré. After another loss of the ball in the build-up, BVB was no longer able to exert any pressure on Eintracht and at the end of the chain, captain Marco Reus, who was hurrying back from the center line, then accidentally tripped the ball. Borussia Dortmund has already scored 28 goals this season, in every imaginable way, but with an incredibly high degree of error consistency. “That happens to us far too often,” Hummels then lamented: “We have to put stability at the top of our agenda if we want to achieve something.”
The fact that BVB finally achieved something was thanks to a system change by coach Marco Rose, who in the 65th minute with Thorgan Hazard created space for Julian Brandt in the headquarters for Reus, who was given away on the left flank. In his prime position, the national player only needed a few minutes to initiate the connection goal by Hazard with a pass to Haaland.
“Bavaria, Bavaria, Bavaria”
Afterwards, Frankfurt seemed powerless in this comical game, let itself be pushed deeper and deeper and then they collapsed. Bellingham on the flank of Thomas Meunier, who was always trying and mostly unhappy, and Dahoud with a fine flick turned the game and made everyone dream who live by dreaming. The championship race. Open again. Only six points left. And with this mentality. Of course, the BVB players then had to answer the questions. And did that too.
“We always talk about Bayern, Bayern, Bayern, but we have to look at ourselves. We have to try to win every game and then we’ll see where we stand at the end,” Can said, annoyed by the question after the win the view of Bavaria. In the end, he was perhaps astonished that coach Rose in the “Current Sports Studio” handed the master’s question back to the team. “You mustn’t ask me that question. I will pass the question on to my team. Because the boys have to answer that. They have the chance to do so in the next few weeks,” he said, and continued to demand attitude from his team.
“Mentality monsters” could break away
With the victory away from the pursuers outside the Champions League places to eight points, the Dortmund team will have to serve as a serious competitor for Bayern again in the next few weeks, who are six points ahead of them. At least in the media. In the next games, BVB can expect a very demanding program. With four wins they could secure their season early. Because with SC Freiburg, TSG Hoffenheim, Bayer Leverkusen and Union Berlin it is up to the four teams that currently hold the four places behind BVB in the snail race for the Champions League places.
Then it will be clear how realistic the championship chances of Dortmund really are and of course whether Erling Haaland will stay. He will not leave Borussia in winter, BVB boss Hans-Joachim Watzke reported to “Spiegel”. And thus continue to provide great entertainment away from the field until a possible decision is made. He recently hit the headlines in Spain because he is said to have explained his future plans to a chance acquaintance on the beach in detail. The stuff dreams are made of.
Haaland missed his own goal on Saturday, but convinced in the last few minutes with his mentality, this word that is so often used in the BVB environment: Because it can mean everything or nothing – like Borussia’s victory in Frankfurt . For the time being, the “mentality monsters” only cemented the situation in the league. “We brought in a great and emotional victory,” said Hummels.