Champions League
Full BVB concentration on Wembley
BVB sports director Sebastian Kehl is looking forward to the Champions League final. photo
© Jan Woitas/dpa
BVB has to bridge two weeks until the Champions League final against Real. Initial speculation about the future of sports director Kehl counteracts the desire for calm preparation.
Borussia Dortmund wants to be ahead of that Block out all the noise during the Champions League final on June 1st in London against Real Madrid.
“We need to focus strongly on football in the next few days. All organisational issues must be put aside. That is a very important lesson from my career,” said sports director Sebastian Kehl, hoping that all professionals will focus on sporting aspects and not on trying to get tickets to the final for family and friends. “We will moderate this. After that, there will be no more requests for tickets. We want to minimise all sources of unrest.”
After a two-day break, coach Edin Terzic’s team resumed training on Tuesday. Unlike the Spanish champions Real Madrid, who will only end the domestic season next Saturday with the game against Betis Sevilla, BVB does not stay in rhythm and has to bridge two weeks until the final. To compensate for this disadvantage, a test game is planned. According to information from the “Ruhr Nachrichten”, the Terzic team will compete against their own U23 behind closed doors on Saturday. Three days later, the UEFA-mandated media day takes place in Dortmund.
Will Kehl stay?
However, the club’s leadership’s wish for undisturbed preparation is counteracted by various speculations. In addition to the question about the future of defense chief Mats Hummels, whose contract expires at the end of the season and who only wants to comment after the premier class final at Wembley, the report about VfL Wolfsburg’s alleged interest in BVB sports director Kehl caused unpleasant topics of conversation. As the “Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung” reported, the 44-year-old former BVB professional is to succeed the outgoing sports director Marcel Schäfer at the North Germans.
A few weeks ago, Kehl, who was contractually bound to BVB until 2025, was denied promotion to a similar position at BVB because the club’s management opted for former youth coordinator Lars Ricken instead. According to reports, there has not yet been any contact between the two clubs regarding this issue. In addition, Kehl’s statement before the last game of the season against Darmstadt (4-0) last weekend was interpreted as an indication that he would stay: “My job is a very exciting one, I’m full of energy.”