Salih Özcan wants to recommend himself for the tournament in Germany in the second half of the season. He would then have two more home games in Dortmund.

On the evening of December 2, 2023, Salih Özcan also looked to Hamburg with great interest. The groups for the 2024 European Championships were drawn in the Elbphilarmonie, and once all the balls had been pulled out of the pots, it was finally clear: Özcan would get two more home games in the summer.

“I was very happy about it,” said Borussia Dortmund’s midfielder on Friday afternoon in Marbella, where BVB are holding their winter training camp until January 9.

Özcan, 25, was born in Cologne and has been playing for the Turkish national team since 2022. His parents’ home country will play in European Championship Group F next summer. Two matches will also be played in Dortmund’s stadium, on June 18 against an as yet undecided play-off winner and four days later against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal.

BVB: Özcan’s playing time fluctuates

Even though the start of the European Championship is just five months away, Özcan doesn’t want to think that far ahead just yet. “The full focus is now on the second half of the season,” he says. “I have to make sure I perform well. I don’t have a free pass. “

In the European Championship qualifiers, Özcan was one of the regulars in defensive midfield. In Dortmund, however, his playing time fluctuated greatly. Sometimes he was a substitute for the out-of-form Emre Can, sometimes for the injured Marcel Sabitzer, sometimes he sat on the bench.

Overall, it was a solid first half of the season, in some phases he was even one of the best players and managed to stabilize the game in the center with good passing. “It’s difficult, but you have to be on the ball,” says Özcan. “If you want to be at the top, you have to be there. I think I’ve used my time well. In the end, it’s the coach’s decision.”

In the coming weeks, Salih Özcan will be looking to convince two. Edin Terzic at BVB and Vincenzo Montella at Turkey