Focus on talent
©IMAGO
After the convincing home win against SC Freiburg and the Champions League qualification, the new season started early at Borussia Dortmund. Coach Niko Kovac and sports director Ole Book saw the 4-0 (3-0) win against adventurous defending guests on Sunday evening as a foretaste of the new season.
“I think those were good moves,” Book said after the 1,000th. Bundesliga home game for Westphalia and the simultaneous 600th home win. BVB will be in the premier class for the eleventh time in a row next season. The runner-up position should now be determined in the remaining three games.
It is almost as important for Kovac and Book to demonstrate the consistent and attack-like attacking football of the first half. “Once is not once. We still have three games where we can show it again,” said Kovac, who is also being viewed critically in the BVB environment because of his pragmatic approach despite the strong Bundesliga season.
Kovac praises BVB talents Inácio and Albert
The BVB bosses would like a more offensive and sometimes more spectacular approach in the new season. Young players should also be integrated more consistently. That’s exactly what Kovac did against Freiburg with the starting eleven debut of Samuele Inácio (18) and the substitution of Mathis Albert, who was only 16 years old. The attacker is the youngest US professional and the third youngest Dortmund player to make his debut in the Bundesliga.
Kovac was repeatedly accused in Dortmund of neglecting talent. But now the BVB coach praised the teenagers for their enthusiasm for training. “You just have to show me that you are willing. Then you have me,” said Kovac. “I’m impressed by how hard-working he is and how he trains,” added the 54-year-old about the Italian Inácio. More spectacular, with more of his own talents – Kovac currently seems to want to show that he can be the coach who can develop BVB beyond the results.
Kanté to Eichhorn: BVB is again intensively recruiting top talent
To achieve this, BVB is looking around the world for up-and-coming talent. With Kauã Prates (17, Cruzeiro) and Justin Lerma (17, Independiente del Valle), the first two new signings confirmed are not yet 18 years old. Liam Claude Kanté from Lokomotiva Zagreb is even younger. BVB is currently in pole position when it comes to wooing the 15-year-old central defender.
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Central defender | ||||||||||
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Kanté, who is already 1.90 meters tall, is considered one of the most promising defensive talents in Europe. He is described as a strong ball winner with a good understanding of the game and clever positional play; as a left-footed player he is particularly sought after. In Dortmund, Kanté could probably be introduced to the senior level in the U19 first.
There the Croat with French roots would meet Peniel Poba. The 17-year-old winger comes to BVB from Borussia Mönchengladbach’s youth ranks. Poba is considered courageous, fast and strong at dribbling. More than two dozen teenagers have been linked to BVB in the TM rumor mill, so the scouting department seems to have a lot of work to do.
In addition to youngsters like Ifeanyichukwu Onwuzulike (16, Winterthur), Samuel Martínez (17, Atlético Nacional) or Ilian Hadidi (17, Standard Liège), who have little or no professional experience, BVB is also focusing on top talents like Leicester’s Jeremy Monga (16) or Hertha’s Kennet Eichhorn (16), who already take on more important roles. The latter should be the preferred solution on the six for the black and yellow. “We will try to find pearls that will make Borussia Dortmund better,” sports director Book announced at his presentation at the end of March.
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 | K. Eichhorn |
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Defensive midfield | ||||||||||
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