Since Mats Hummels verbally hit the table in an interview two weeks ago after the defeat at Union Berlin (0: 2), things have been going well at Borussia Dortmund. But how much of a part did the clear words of the BVB central defender really have?
The statements that Mats Hummels made in mid-October were tough. “Sometimes the simple 20-meter back pass is the best solution, even if it doesn’t come up on social media afterwards,” said the BVB defender after the defeat at the then Bundesliga leader 1. FC Union Berlin in the direction of Dortmund youngster Karim Adeyemi , who initiated the second goal with a failed back-heel.
Two weeks and numerous discussions about Hummel’s words later, there is a confident advancement in the DFB Cup (2-0 against Hannover), a thrashing victory against VfB Stuttgart (5-0), a remarkable draw in the Champions League against Manchester City (0: 0) and the recent 2-1 away win against Eintracht Frankfurt on the credit side.
Even before the game against SGE, BVB coach Edin Terzic was asked on “Sky” whether Hummels had started something with his criticism. “I don’t know,” replied Terzic, who, according to media reports, is said to have talked to Hummels about the fact that he should rather criticize internally.
“All I know is that Mats Hummels performed well and that’s the most important thing. And not only Mats, but the whole team responded well to the internal and external criticism,” Terzic continued.
Hummels: This criticism has already been raised several times internally at BVB
Hummels himself believes that his outburst of anger at least accelerated the changes among his colleagues. “I would say that something was done there,” he explained to “Sky” and added: “I would definitely not say that my words caused a 180-degree turnaround. I didn’t expect that either.”
Unlike Terzic, however, Hummels does believe that the public criticism path was the right one in this case. “What is always said is that it should be done internally,” said Hummels, garnished with a “but”: “You can be sure that this has happened more than once, even before.”
That’s why it’s “sometimes not wrong” to address such topics publicly. “Then it becomes an issue and there is more focus on it. I’ve done it consciously a few times, sometimes it’s the last resort because you think it might help,” revealed the 33-year-old.
BVB recently won a tight game against Eintracht Frankfurt. However, Hummels couldn’t say with complete certainty why that was the case in the end: “We have two options: the first is that we got involved and are fighting. The second is that Frankfurt didn’t take the chances that we had served and we had a fantastic goalkeeper.”