BVB: Terzic against Chelsea’s Potter duel between two coach buddies

Know each other from the coach course

When Borussia Dortmund welcomes Chelsea in the round of 16 of the Champions League this Wednesday, it’s also a duel between two coaching buddies. “I met Graham in the football teacher’s course in England,” said BVB coach Edin Terzic about Chelsea’s Graham Potter. “The whole thing went on for almost two years. So we exchanged regularly. At the time he was still a coach in Sweden. He’s an impressive personality, a fantastic coach.”

Terzic, who once worked as an assistant coach at West Ham United, added with a smile: “We couldn’t have predicted that a few years ago in the football teacher’s course that we would face each other in the round of 16 of the Champions League with two right big clubs.”

Potter succeeded Thomas Tuchel as manager at the Blues last September. Terzic was particularly impressed by the performance of the 47-year-old as coach at Östersunds FK in Sweden. Potter took over the club in 2011 in the fourth division. “What really fascinated me is that he went to Sweden, somewhere in the middle of nowhere. The nearest town was 50 kilometers away,” reported Terzic. “He created an energy there, not only in the club but in the whole city, which then led to them winning the cup, being promoted to the first division, qualifying for the Europa League.” After his Job in Sweden, Potter coached Swansea City and Brighton & Hove Albion before moving to London to join his most prestigious employer to date.

Potter on Terzic: Brings “everything you want in a trainer”

Potter also praised his colleague. “My first impression of him was incredibly positive. A really humble guy, very intelligent, articulate, open-minded and creative. He brings everything you want from a coach,” he said at a press conference about the meeting – under extremely different conditions. While the Blues could only celebrate one win in 2023, BVB has won all games so far this year. With a squad value of 1.04 billion euros, the professionals from Stamford Bridge are almost twice as valuable as those from the black and yellow (522.7 million euros).

In addition, Chelsea spent €329.5m on eight new players in January. Never before had a club invested anywhere near as much money in newcomers as the Blues. The total seasonal expenses of around 611.5 million euros are also a world record. For comparison: Julian Ryerson came to Dortmund in winter for a total of 13.5 million euros, a total of 104.6 million euros in 2022/23. Potter sees his team in a special situation due to the enormous transfer costs this season. “There’s obviously more pressure and higher expectations when you’re spending a lot.”

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