The two new assistant coaches Nuri Sahin and Sven Bender work at Borussia Dortmund according to a clear distribution of roles.
Bender will “focus on our defensive behavior,” revealed head coach Edin Terzic in a club interview on YouTube: “With Nuri, he will focus on all offensive processes. I think that was also his great strength Player that he had an incredibly great feel for offensive processes and spaces.”
Terzic praised the collaboration with the two former BVB professionals, who have been part of the coaching team since the turn of the year. “The conversations are very intense, very long, but are incredibly fun – because it’s about football,” said Terzic: “I feel extremely good about it because I realize that I have very strong partners at my side to achieve the maximum in the second half of the season.”
Terzic: Bender and Sahin stand for special values
The new assistants also report a performance-enhancing working atmosphere under Terzic. “He gives us a lot of freedom, he also lets us live out our ideas,” said Sahin, who had terminated his contract as head coach at Turkish first division club Antalyaspor before returning to Dortmund. The former midfielder explained that he had “really good ideas in my area” and knew “what I want at Borussia Dortmund, where we have to tackle it.”
Just like Sahin, Bender also wants to act with an open and honest manner. “I believe that I am very authentic and that everyone knows what they will get from me,” said the former defensive player.
Bender and Sahin also represent special values on and off the pitch, said Terzic, “we just wanted to bring them back to BVB.”