Out of the DFB Cup
No longer a title team: BVB in search of form and identity
Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel (l) and coach Edin Terzic say goodbye to the fans after the cup exit. photo
© Tom Weller/dpa
Dortmund’s cup exit raises questions again. What type of football does Borussia actually stand for? The mood is threatening to change – a coaching discussion could come to the club.
Since Wednesday evening it looks as if BVB will end another season without a trophy. “It hurts incredibly that we missed another huge opportunity this year,” said Kobel after the well-deserved round of 16 exit in the DFB Cup at VfB Stuttgart.
The biggest chance of winning the title this season is already gone, and the gap to leaders Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga is huge. If BVB loses against RB Leipzig on Saturday (6.30 p.m./Sky), the Champions League places will also be out of reach for the time being. The mood threatens to change. If the runner-up doesn’t get back on track before Christmas, he will hardly be able to avoid a coaching discussion, at least externally. The discussion about what kind of football Borussia actually wants to represent is already in full swing. In addition to its form, BVB is also looking for its identity.
Captain Can sees football “catastrophe”
Playing with the ball was a “catastrophe,” said captain Emre Can very clearly after the 0-2 (0-0) defeat in Stuttgart. But the team didn’t work well against the ball either. In general, little fit – whether at the front or back. Things have to “improve a lot,” complained the 29-year-old, who was called up by coach Edin Terzic this time as the right part of a three-man defense chain.
According to Can, BVB’s renewed weak performance was not a question of quality in his eyes. You have already proven many times what good performances you are capable of. Just a week earlier, Borussia had secured early entry into the round of 16 of the Champions League with a 3-1 win at AC Milan. Next Wednesday it’s all about winning against Paris Saint-Germain in the supposed monster group F. It’s all the more astonishing that BVB appeared so discouraged last Sunday in Leverkusen (1-1) and now in Stuttgart. Wall tactics instead of offensive fireworks. Should this be the new way?
Coach Terzic defends defensive tactics
They “did not choose a passive approach,” explained coach Terzic when asked about the defensive orientation with which the Dortmund team wanted to counter the extremely strong Stuttgart team, but were ultimately hopelessly inferior. Terzic and Sebastian Kehl analyzed in unison that the many simple ball losses had led to uncertainty in the team. But these have nothing to do with the tactics, according to the sports director. There was no isolation, said Kehl. But at times it seemed like that.
The coach’s idea to completely subordinate the game to success this season and to appear a little less euphoric than pragmatic may have been fundamentally correct. But Borussia, which has stood for an attractive and exciting offensive style for years, is strange with its new look. Ultimately it comes down to the right mix of fight and wit, explained keeper Kobel. The problem is: BVB can’t find them.
Kobel warns when looking at the table
The coach is increasingly confronted with questions about his tactics. Apart from national striker Niclas Füllkrug, the new additions that the club brought in in the summer are apparently still in the adjustment phase. It is a shaky framework on which BVB is building its new title dreams after missing the championship in the previous season. If there are no points against Leipzig, the unrest will continue to grow.
“The game on Saturday doesn’t decide the whole season,” said Kobel. Looking at the table, the goalkeeper added: “We have to be extremely careful that we don’t lose touch.” After the cup exit, the mood was “already shitty”.
“We have shown often enough that we can react,” said sports director Kehl. But Borussia must “perform better against RB in order to survive”. And sooner or later you will find your way back to yourself.