Champions League
Kehl after school leaving certificate in San Siro: “Correct statement”
BVB celebrates after Jamie Bynoe-Gittens made it 2-1 at the San Siro. photo
© Federico Gambarini/dpa
The experts are amazed. In the Hammer Group F of the Champions League, BVB is the first team to reach the round of 16. This gives you courage for the next challenging task.
For sports director Sebastian Kehl it was a “real statement”, for leader Mats Hummels it was a “sign of growing up”. The 3:1 (1:1) coup in San Siro gave everyone in Dortmund a lot of joy after stormy weeks with a lot of headwind. Unlike most recently in the Bundesliga, Borussia presented itself in the Champions League as a mature team at a stable level.
“The fact that we won two away games in a row in Newcastle and Milan shows that we have become a different team than in recent years. The games have become fewer in which we can simply be eaten up,” said Hummels, commenting on the deserved success over Milan and the early entry into the round of 16 in what is probably the toughest Group F.
Hans-Joachim Watzke’s cell phone stopped working after the final whistle. “It exploded with congratulations from all over the world,” the BVB managing director revealed to the “Ruhr Nachrichten”. “We have put on a brilliant show in the Champions League and are having a good season so far.”
Group victory is within reach
Contrary to the expectations of many experts, BVB left the teams from Newcastle and Milan behind and can already defend their lead in the table with a draw on the last day of the preliminary round on December 13th in the home game against the star ensemble from Paris Saint-Germain, who were three points lower. “We’re not at the level of the big teams yet, you have to be honest about that. But we’re good enough to survive in the Champions League on a good day. Today we can be proud,” said the outstanding Hummels. Coach Edin Terzic seemed similarly satisfied: “We are very happy that we qualified early in the group of death.”
Just a few weeks after the unacceptable performances in the Bundesliga against Bayern (0:4) and in Stuttgart (1:2), his team showed their great potential in Milan. Goalkeeper Gregor Kobel laid the foundation for the victory with a saved hand penalty against Olivier Giroud (6th minute). The goals from Marco Reus (10th/foul penalty), Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (59th) and Karim Adeyemi (69th) were the well-deserved reward for a ripped-off performance. “Not many people believed we could do that,” said Kehl, “we’ve had to put up with a lot in the last few days. But after the win over Gladbach and the win today, the team is on a really good path.”
Even the wave of colds that affected several professionals did not cause BVB to falter. That commanded a lot of respect for coach Terzic: “We were on the last stretch with a few boys. The boys pushed through today. You saw what you’re capable of when you invest everything you have to win.”
“Football God” Mats Hummels
The 34-year-old veteran Hummels played a significant role in the success. TV expert Matthias Sammer certified that he had a “world-class performance”, and coach Terzic even compared him to the former Dortmund “football god” Jürgen Kohler. Hummels passed on the praise to his colleagues: “Today everyone wanted to, everyone fought. That was fun.”
Bynoe-Gittens is also giving the Dortmund team a lot of joy at the moment. The 19-year-old dribbling artist scored again just three days after his goal against Mönchengladbach (4:2) and also took the penalty to give Reus an important 1-0 lead. “It was a really good week for him. The boy is extremely accepted in the team because he worked hard for it. He can make the difference for us,” said Kehl.
Next Sunday (5.30 p.m./DAZN), BVB will once again face a huge challenge in the Bundesliga’s top game against the previously unbeaten league leaders Leverkusen. But after the victory in Milan, the confidence has grown. Nevertheless, Hummels sees the coming task as more demanding: “Leverkusen is a team that you have to watch over Milan at the moment. They play fantastic football. In Germany that is currently the most difficult task.”