Borussia Dortmund faces a truly mammoth task in the Champions League on Wednesday (9:00 p.m.): It’s against Manchester City and the in-form Erling Haaland. How does BVB want to stop its former goalscorer?
“It’s difficult,” said sports director Lars Ricken to media representatives on departure to England. “First of all, we’re looking forward to meeting players who used to play for BVB and who we also value as people. It’s really extraordinary what he’s achieved there, not only this season but also in recent years. It’s almost perfect.”
Haaland is “the locomotive” of Pep Guardiola’s star ensemble, said Ricken. “He’s pulling this team and it would obviously help if we took him out of the game. But there’s no guarantee.”
Ricken emphasized with a view to BVB’s Haaland plan: “We are good defensively. We have central defenders who will make life difficult for him.”
One of these central defenders could be Nico Schlotterbeck, who initially played furiously after his long injury break, but was recently absent due to illness, and is back in the squad in Manchester.
Does the BVB defense chief even have the strength for 90 minutes? “He hasn’t played for almost half a year and I think he played over 90 minutes three times. So I’m not worried about that,” said Ricken.
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Ricken praises the BVB defense: “European top value”
Overall, BVB’s defensive performance is currently “really top,” added the Dortmund sports boss. “We have now kept six clean sheets in the Bundesliga, which is truly a top European record.”
One shouldn’t forget, added Ricken: “With Serhou Guirassy, we also have a striker who was the top scorer in the Champions League last year. I don’t think we need to hide from that.”
The duel with City is “certainly one of the biggest challenges in European football,” said Ricken. BVB wants to stay in the top group of the Champions League table. “Accordingly, the message is clear: We are ready to take something from this.”