Borussia Dortmund has done the turnaround in the past few weeks and has shown significantly better football again. The clear formation at BVB has meant that more and more experts are now believing in the Champions League against FC Barcelona. Ex-BVB star Steffen Freund also trusts the Dortmund to the Dortmund against Barca.
FC Barcelona was “already the favorite” in front of the royal class duels on April 9 and 15 April, as Steffen Freund in an exclusive conversation with RTL/NTV and sport.de emphasized. Nevertheless, the 1996 European champion dared to forecast: “I am there with my expert friend Didi Hamann, I think: Borussia Dortmund continues.”
Freund, who himself played for BVB between 1993 and 1998 and became a German champion and once a German champion and once a Champions League winner, explained what the black and yellow has made it particularly strong again.
“There are now a lot of things that Niko Kovac is trying to teach the team. First of all, of course, mentality and passion, he always says.
Freund still trusts BVB the top four
He also added that the changeover to a three-way or five-fighter chain also provided new stability and BVB “overall more flexible in its overall structure”.
It was also of great importance that the last duels against the direct competition for the European Cup places in the Bundesliga, FC Augsburg (3: 1) and SC Freiburg (4: 1) were successfully contested. These would have taken care of new confidence and, above all, strengthened the position of head coach Niko Kovac before the crucial weeks in the season.
“Now comes the Champions League and then the crucial games. You have to wait and see whether they still create the top four. […] Much depends on the two Barcelona games and the classic in between against FC Bayern. If you make these games successfully, you can still create both: the Champions League final and the top four in the Bundesliga, “said Freund, who himself played 187 Bundesliga games.
Reaching the fourth place in the table would mean again the renewed qualification for the Champions League and is therefore considered the minimal goal of every Bundesliga season for all BVB protagonists.