Borussia Dortmund’s U19s have made a terrific start to the new season in the U19 Bundesliga. For head coach Mike Tullberg, this fact cannot be taken for granted.
Borussia Dortmund’s U19s are still the measure of all things in the A-Junioren-Bundesliga West. After the team under the leadership of head coach Mike Tullberg secured the championship title last season, BVB’s youngsters have continued to collect points in the current season. The first three games were all won, most recently a 4:0 victory against Rot-Weiss Essen.
Youngster Julian Rijkhoff scored twice against Essen. Tom Alexander Rothe and Noa-Gabriel Simic provided the other goals in this match. U19 coach Tullberg was satisfied with his squad’s performance after their third win of the season.
“You could probably hear in my voice that I was very satisfied until the 60th minute, because up until then our plan was fully working. Against Essen, we did it a bit differently structurally because we wanted Jaden Tom Korzynietz and Rafael Lubach on the pitch. They earned their place in the starting eleven in training. Furthermore, we started with Julian Rijkhoff as the only striker. Against Essen, we tried to operate more through the centre and that worked wonderfully, especially in the first half and at the beginning of the second half,” Tullberg summed up after the final whistle.
Despite the success, the coach also found fault with the way his team played. According to the coach, his team had slackened a bit after the changes from the 60th minute onwards. “Normally something like that is punished. We are leading 4-0, but I expect the boys to follow through with the plan from training for the full 90 minutes. Still, overall I’m very happy with the performance.”
Nine points from three games are “not a matter of course”
So it seems that BVB’s youngsters are picking up where they left off last season. Nevertheless, the success of Dortmund’s U19 team is no coincidence.
As a training coach, you are never one hundred percent satisfied, that’s just the way it is.
Mike Tullberg
“On the first matchday against Schalke, we played the best first half I have ever seen in my time as a coach at BVB. We also played great football against Hilden, even though we missed a few chances. I was very satisfied with the defence, just like against Essen. We still have to develop further on the offensive, because we also play with a different system. Nine points from three games are not a matter of course. But as a training coach you are never one hundred percent satisfied, that’s just the way it is,” Tullberg explained in reference to the successful start to the season.
On the upcoming fourth matchday, Borussia Dortmund’s A Juniors will face SC Verl’s U19 team and will have the chance to extend their winning streak further.
