At Süle the “hands bound”
© Imago
Despite moving into the quarter -finals of the Champions League, Borussia Dortmund still employs a few problem cases. Before the Bundesliga game on Saturday (6:30 p.m./Sky) at RB Leipzig, coach Niko Kovac has now commented on Niklas Süle and Julian Brandt. While Süle is practically not at all under Kovac, Brandt plays regularly – but mostly rather disappointing. Kovac indicated that the critical basic attitude of the fans at Brandt also play a role.
“Perhaps it is a little easier for him to play away than at home at the moment,” said Kovac about Brandt. Especially with the 28-year-old, unsuccessful actions had recently been gossiped by the BVB fans. From Kovacs up to date five home games, his team was only able to win against Union Berlin – Brandt was missing in the furious 6-0 due to muscle hardening. In the 1-2 against Stuttgart and the 0: 1 against Augsburg, the longest serving in Dortmund was in the starting XI. Likewise in the 0-0 against Sporting and the 1-1 against Lille in the Champions League.
In the 2-1 in the round of 16 in Lille in Lille, Kovac certified the offensive player an “above-average good game”: “You can see how important he is.” Brandt’s contract, which he last extended in April 2023, is dated to 2026. Talks about a new working paper are according to the “Ruhr news“Came to a standstill a few weeks ago.
Also in 2026, the defender Süle’s contract, which Kovac still knows from his time as a coach of FC Bayern, ends. The BVB coach had praised this when he took office in early February and described him as a safe candidate for the 2026 World Cup when fitness. Under Kovac, Süle has only played at 0-2 in Bochum and in the Champions League for one minute as a substitute for 3-0 at Sporting.
BVB coach Kovac: “Hands bound” at Süle
“Niki was injured for a long time. It is not easy for him to get into his position on his position, ”said Kovac, who has so far rely on Captain Emre Can and Nico Schlotterbeck in central defense. “We have a lot of stability right now. That is also a merit of the two, ”said Kovac. Of the nine games under the leadership of the Croatian, the Dortmund were able to win four times and played two draws in three Netherlands – the goal difference is 15: 7. “Niki can’t show up right now. That does not mean that he is not hardworking. If the others are so good, the trainers are also tied to the trainer. ”
After a few games break, Waldemar Anton was able to show himself again in the starting XI at the 2-1 in Lille. Kovac brought the central defender on the right defense side, where he last regularly ran for VfB Stuttgart in 2022/23.