Bayern on their minds, but Hoffenheim on their doorstep – Borussia Dortmund have to perform a balancing act ahead of this weekend’s summit clash.
The summit meeting casts its shadow ahead, but Edin Terzic is not yet thinking about Bayern. “The opponent and the general conditions don’t allow us to think about anything other than the DFB Cup match,” emphasized the Borussia Dortmund coach ahead of Wednesday’s second-round match against TSG Hoffenheim (18:00/Sky).
The fans are already eagerly awaiting the match against Bayern Munich, the duel is on everyone’s lips – but BVB will have to perform a balancing act this week. Before Terzic and Co. can fully focus on the key game that points the way ahead, Borussia still has to play in the cup. The Bayern game? No, that’s “not even on his mind yet”, assured sporting director Sebastian Kehl. So one step at a time.
Terzic focuses on freshness
In order not to jeopardize the goals in the DFB Cup, the coach once again sharpened the senses of his professionals. “We are aware of the difficulty of the task that awaits us,” said Terzic, who nevertheless wants to focus on the “freshness factor” in the line-up in view of the intensive week. Hoffenheim face Bayern on Saturday (18:30/Sky) and Newcastle United the following week.
It is therefore all the more important that BVB will probably be able to call on goalkeeper Gregor Kobel and Mats Hummels again on Wednesday. “We still have a few guys with question marks. But none of them are definitely out,” said Terzic. This means that captain Emre Can and Felix Nmecha should also be available again. Despite a bruised nose, Kobel is “looking quite well” and Hummels, who suffered a knock, is “already feeling better”.
Terzic was less concerned about personnel issues, but the BVB coach had to think much more about the two faces of his team after the wild draw at Eintracht Frankfurt (3:3). The Borussians have been more pragmatic and mature of late. At Hesse, however, Dortmund were uninspired, unimaginative and defensively vulnerable for a long time – and revealed problems that should have been fixed long ago.
In Frankfurt: problems in pressing, lack of willingness
“What we didn’t like were the gaps when we pressed,” criticized Terzic, who also criticized “the willingness to invest everything defensively to switch gears again”. Against TSG, it was a matter of “sharpening our senses again. We know how strong Hoffenheim are on the counter-attack”. Above all, however, the Munich attack around Harry Kane and Leroy Sane is likely to punish carelessness badly.
“We are very stable and successful, especially in home games. We want to prove that in the next three games,” said Kehl. And despite the critical words, Terzic also emphasized the morale and mentality of his team, as BVB had come back twice in Frankfurt after falling behind. It was “not so long ago that things looked different”, he said: “I think we worked hard for that.”
This attitude should also be important against Hoffenheim – and against Bayern.