Borussia Dortmund continues to have major personnel problems. Coach Nuri Sahin gives an update before the Champions League game against Sturm Graz.
At least Nuri Sahin can now joke about the still very tense personnel situation at Borussia Dortmund. “Some places will definitely remain vacant,” said the long-suffering BVB coach, laughing, about the squad positions of his rump squad for the Champions League game on Tuesday (9 p.m., RS live ticker) against Sturm Graz.
Things had looked quite different before the 2-1 win over RB Leipzig on Saturday, which was also so important for him, when the coach, who had previously been harshly criticized, rattled off the long list of injured players. Nothing has changed significantly. There are no further absences that were feared at the weekend, but there is also no return of prominent players such as first-choice goalkeeper Gregor Kobel or national defender Waldemar Anton. “The known absences remain,” announced the 36-year-old.
“My biggest wish would be to rotate without any loss of quality. Unfortunately, we can’t do that at the moment,” said the Dortmund coach, but he seemed much more relaxed than he did last Friday after suffering four consecutive away defeats. The unexpected victory and, above all, the best performance of the season, which was hardly thought possible under the circumstances, against Bundesliga runners-up Leipzig, has suddenly improved the mood around BVB. “Of course, victories help to bring calm,” said sporting director Sebastian Kehl, referring to the previously tense situation, which is to be further improved.
Despite the many absences – at least nine are likely to be against the Austrian double winners – a victory on Tuesday is mandatory. “Our mission is clear against them: to win tomorrow,” said Marcel Sabitzer, an Austrian international from Graz. Despite being substituted early on Saturday due to injury, the 30-year-old reported fit for the game against the local rivals of his former youth club Grazer AK.
BVB: Marcel Sabitzer, who comes from Graz, reports fit.
The BVB midfielder is one of a group of professionals who have to hold out until the start of the international break after Saturday’s Bundesliga game at FSV Mainz, despite suffering from a number of injuries. “You have to grit your teeth sometimes. I’m not one to be whiny,” Sabitzer said of the current race against time. “The games are increasing, there’s hardly any time to recover. It’s not unusual to get a twinge.”
A final training session in the afternoon was out of the question for Sahin. ‘We can only recover,’ said the coach, who was significantly strengthened by the Leipzig game but is now in a dilemma. Because his Dortmund emergency team cannot positively surprise in Graz like they did against Leipzig. Even with the current squad, fans and the surrounding area expect a victory.
If they don’t succeed, not only would the good starting position in the European premier class after the two opening victories be gone again, but the pressure would also increase again very quickly. “We know what situation we are in,” said Sabitzer. (dpa, RS)