“It’s new for us,” said coach Edin Terzic about his “target player in the box,” who Borussia Dortmund haven’t had in this form for a long time. After the 34-year-old’s goal debut, Terzic, teammates and fans hope for more of these Modeste moments – a style of play specially tailored to the almost 1.90 meter tall attacker should help.
“It will take a little time to use this weapon for us,” emphasized Terzic after the 1-0 (1-0) thanks to Modeste at Hertha BSC on Saturday. In the Berlin Olympic Stadium, the newcomer really ignited for the first time – against whom else?
In the eleventh game that he played with a team against the capital club, it was his eighth goal. In the third competitive game after moving from 1. FC Köln, it worked out for Sébastien Haller, who suffers from testicular cancer, with the first BVB goal. “It took a while. In the end it was an important goal,” said Modeste.
He celebrated arm in arm with Terzic in the 32nd minute. “The trainer noticed that I’ve been getting so much on the cover lately, and the trainer has always been behind me and always supported me,” Modeste explained on the Sky TV channel. His coach said with a smile after the game: “I have a scene in my head where he runs towards the coach and starts dancing. Thank God he didn’t do that today.”
A smile was part of all Borussia. Unlike a week ago, when they gambled away a 2-0 lead against Werder Bremen in the very last few minutes and lost 2-3. This time the lead lasted because all BVB pros fought vehemently against a goal that was threatening to concede again. “We reminded the boys how bad it felt to be on the pitch,” Terzic revealed one of the secrets of motivation.
The third win in the fourth game of the season shouldn’t hide the fact that things can go wrong again at any time if Dortmund don’t make better use of their chances. 24 shots on goal – seven on the box of the outstanding Hertha goalkeeper Oliver Christensen, but 17 missed. The Berliners made a total of twelve attempts (9/3).
Desperation is the wrong word, commented Dortmund’s goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, who was also strong, given the lack of further BVB goals. “If you’re desperate on the pitch, it doesn’t work out so well. But of course there’s a certain amount of frustration sometimes.” They would have to score their goals earlier, “so that we can have more peace in our game, so that we can catch our breath more,” he explained. And coach Terzic sees it that way, especially with a view to the upcoming English weeks: “It’s also about saving energy.”
In preparation for the Hertha game, Terzic specifically trained crosses and crosses to Modeste, as well as the goal. Exemplary prepared by new signing and Modeste’s former Cologne teammate Salih Özcan. “We tried to put Tony in the limelight more. He has his qualities there. You could see that with the goal. He’s unbelievable,” said the midfielder.
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