In the headline match against the league leaders, Niko Kovac’s team must bring “quality and physical freshness” to the pitch – also with a view to the coming three weeks, during which Borussia...
In the headline match against the league leaders, Niko Kovac’s team must bring “quality and physical freshness” to the pitch – also with a view to the coming three weeks, during which Borussia will spend a lot of time travelling. However, this is not always easy after international breaks, explained the BVB coach at the press conference ahead of Saturday evening’s match in Munich.
Kovac is all the more pleased that all the Black & Yellow internationals have been back in Dortmund since Thursday morning. The most important thing: “Everyone is healthy so far.” Apart from the long-term injured Emre Can, Aaron Anselmino and Julien Duranville, who are now back in training, only Nico Schlotterbeck (cold) and Ramy Bensebaini, who only returned from Algeria on Thursday morning, were missing from team training. “I expect both of them to be back on Friday,” said Kovac.
Niko Kovac: “We are the outsiders who want to hurt our opponents.”
Kovac will also need a full squad at his disposal in Munich, especially given that Bayern are unbeaten on home turf since before the start of the season: their 3-2 defeat to VfL Bochum on 8 March was the Bavarians' last loss at home. Of course, he is aware of this, says Kovac, who knows exactly how his former club are performing under coach Vincent Kompany. “It's a unique achievement and shows the quality of the team. Bayern,” the coach makes clear, “are the favourites. We are the outsiders who want to hurt our opponents.”
Incidentally, this has worked well in the last three matches against the league leaders: In their last three meetings, BVB have picked up one win (2-0) and two draws (1-1, 2-2), with the most recent clash at the Allianz Arena ending in a 2-2 draw last April. “If we work the opposition like we did in the second half, then we’ll have our chances,” says Kovac, looking back on the most recent encounter.
Waldemar Anton erzielte beim 2:2 in München nicht nur das zweite Dortmunder Tor, der Abwehrspieler war außerdem der Borusse mit den meisten Ballkontakten im Spiel (73).
Creating opportunities will be key on Saturday: “Just defending won’t work, because Bayern are simply too good,” explains the coach, who knows what will be important: “Getting off to a good start, being brave, staying compact and keeping the opposition well away from our goal in order to create chances.” Kovac does not believe that Bayern will underestimate Borussia from their position as favourites: “We have already shown this season that we are capable of playing really well.”
As before every game, Kovac insists that he wants to focus primarily on himself and his team ahead of the clash with the league leaders. “We have to give 100 percent in all areas to have any chance at all.” The most crucial factor is that BVB will not be able to get anything out of Saturday’s game without team spirit. “We have to be there in every one-on-one situation. If something doesn’t work out somewhere, then the second player has to be there,” explains Kovac. “It only works as a team.” His players have done well in recent weeks: Borussia are now unbeaten in 14 Bundesliga games in a row. “Now it’s about demonstrating all we’ve worked towards in a top match.”
Nina Bargel-Neuhaus
Category: General Sports
