Borussia Dortmund

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A ´one-two´ with the fans - Borussia´s young team counts on ´12th man´

[3.12.] Mainz play at Frankfurt, Hoffenheim at HSV. For the first time in months, Borussia Dortmund have the chance to move into the top third of the table again. First, of course, they have to beat Nuremberg at home. "Even a draw would feel like a defeat. We really need to keep the points in Dortmund," demanded Nuri Sahin.

“He’s a really nice guy,“ says Jürgen Klopp about Michael Oenning. “I’ve known him for ages.”

The fourth and the ninth are currently only separated by three points - it´s that close in the Bundesliga. "We´ve fought for a long time to get back in contention again," said Jürgen Klopp after his seven-game unbeaten team has picked up 15 points since the beginning of October. "But I still feel some kind of scepticism towards us when we face opponents which might rank lower."

But there´s a lot of respect for Nuremberg - from the management, the players, the fans and, of course, the coaching staff. While Klopp mentioned all the good games, successes and close results by the Franconian side away from home recently, Nuremberg´s coach Michael Oenning stated, "At home Dortmund are obliged to attack." And he added something BVB probably were not too keen to hear: "That suits us actually."

"We have to play our game. From the very start," described Nuri Sahin BVB´s game plan. Borussia are not eager to repeat the mistakes from the 0-0 draw against Mainz, they rather want to pick up where they left off against Hoffenheim last week. "We certainly didn´t reinvent football there," said Klopp, "but almost all of our measures proved to be successful."

Jürgen Klopp seeks a ‘one-two’ with the fans.

After the away victory the team "had a similar feel to the one after last year´s win at Cologne," said Klopp. And he can now justifiably hope that it will give his players another boost of confidence for the remaining games of the year against Nuremberg, Wolfsburg and Freiburg.

Emphasising the ´juvenility´ of the team, Klopp also seeks a ´one-two´ with the fans: "I hope that they will let them feel how happy they are with them. The louder it is, the more the lads will run. None of them is immune to it yet." The coach also emphasised the "potential and character" of the team, and projected: "If you give them time, they will be successful."

At any rate, matchday 15 is supposed to mark a step forward and confirm a statement by Nuremberg coach Oenning: "Borussia are on the rise again. They are better than their ninth place indicates."