The Dortmund pros commented taciturnly and sullenly on the meager 1-1 (1-1) in the last Champions League group game at FC Copenhagen. The fact that BVB was just lucky enough to avoid defeat, as in the flattering victory in Frankfurt at the weekend, was not exactly the best preparation for the end of the year in the Bundesliga. Emre Can didn’t use the excuse that his team had already qualified for the knockout stages before kick-off and rested numerous stars. “We jogged around, we walked around,” scolded the national player and added angrily: “We’re playing in the Champions League here. It’s about a lot of money. It’s about everyone showing that everyone wants to prove themselves. We’re closed 100 percent not fulfilled.”
Can slipped into the role of Mats Hummels, who had been substituted at half-time for reasons of caution and who had repeatedly made headlines with his criticism of the team. Sebastian Kehl expressed understanding for the attack of the defensive midfielder. “A realistic approach to our situation is important and necessary,” commented the sporting director after landing in Dortmund. “But in the end, a reaction to it is much more important. We have to do better in the next three games, it’s an intense time now.”
The lavish prize money of 2.8 million euros was not incentive enough for Borussia. The bottom of the table from the Danish capital left even the best chances to score wasted in rows, especially in the first half. That’s why BVB was still well served after the interim lead by Thorgan Hazard (23rd) with Hakon Haraldsson’s equalizer (41st). Unlike midfielder Can, coach Edin Terzic struck a more diplomatic tone: “It was the fifth English week. You have to forgive one or the other.” Nonetheless, disappointment also rang through to the football teacher: “We wanted to show that we could give it our all in this game – even if it wasn’t a matter of life or death. But we lost a lot of the ball and had to catch a lot of counterattacks.”
It fits into the picture of a lack of playful harmony that the offensive forces sometimes got in their own way. When Karim Adeyemi tried to serve Anthony Modeste free in the 53rd minute, Donyell Malen robbed the Frenchman of a possible 2-1 with a weak finish. Modeste found it difficult to resist scolding: “It wasn’t the first time. But I don’t want to criticize it. In the end we have to work together.”
Without a significant increase, further adversity threatens until the start of the World Cup break. The fourth in the Bundesliga wants to make up ground in the remaining three games at home against VfL Bochum and away in Wolfsburg and Mönchengladbach. “We hope that the last three games are so successful that we all go into the winter break with big grins,” commented Nico Schlotterbeck. Before the draw on Monday with the possible opponents SSC Napoli, FC Porto, Benfica Lisbon, Tottenham Hotspur, FC Chelsea and Real Madrid, the national defender is not afraid: “No matter who comes there, they have to beat us first.”
BVB until the World Cup break without Wolf and Rothe
Borussia Dortmund will have to do without two more professionals in the last three Bundesliga games before the World Cup break. As the fourth-placed player announced on Thursday after returning from the Champions League game at FC Copenhagen (1-1), the football year for all-rounder Marius Wolf and left-back Tom Rothe has come to an early end. After extensive medical examinations, Wolf (27) was diagnosed with “a disturbance of the organ of balance caused by an infection”. The 18-year-old Rothe received a severe blow to the knee in training earlier this week and suffered a sprained bone. Before the winter break, BVB still has a home game against VfL Bochum and the games in Wolfsburg and Mönchengladbach.
The BVB share temporarily fell 3.42 percent to EUR 3.61 via XETRA.
COPENHAGEN / DORTMUND (dpa-AFX)
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