Before the final in Bologna
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Coach Nuri Şahin is not letting the precarious situation at Borussia Dortmund take away from his joy in his work. “I’m doing well. I’m looking forward to the game and am confident that we will get the three points,” said the 36-year-old with a smile before the Champions League game on Tuesday (9 p.m./Amazon Prime Video) at FC Bologna.
According to his own statements, the fact that another defeat will make things very difficult for him personally as a coach after slipping to tenth place in the Bundesliga does not affect him. “I don’t feel any pressure at all,” explained Şahin. “For me it’s more about us finally getting this switch done tomorrow. And that we are taking a huge step in the Champions League in order to gain the momentum and continue to score points and catch up in the Bundesliga.” BVB is “definitely indebted” to that.
Unlike in the league, Dortmund is on target in the premier class. The Revierklub goes into the penultimate matchday in ninth place with twelve points. Eighth place would be enough for direct qualification for the round of 16. The big goal is to avoid the playoffs and thus two additional games in February. “That would be good for us,” said Şahin, looking at the otherwise very busy schedule.
BVB defender Schlotterbeck: Team in debt
National player Nico Schlotterbeck (25) sees himself and his teammates as having a duty to coach Şahin. “I believe that the team is of course responsible. The coach gives us a plan. “We haven’t implemented it the way we wanted in the last three games,” said the central defender.
BVB has recently lost three times in a row in the Bundesliga. Despite the great pressure, he found Şahin to be “very focused, very clear,” said Schlotterbeck, who also emphasized with regard to his previous performances in the premier class: “I hope we can make the switch to this Champions League mode, because we “We’ve gained self-confidence there so far this season.”