The hectic period starts for BVB on Saturday with their away fixture and crunch match against Hertha BSC. 9 matches in 29 days are on the cards for BVB. If the team survive the match in the knockout round of the UEFA Europa League against FC Porto, they will be playing continuously after every three days until the 20th March. 

After their brilliant 3-1 victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach and the hard-fought 2-0 win over FC Ingolstadt, the team have “gained the self-belief that will keep them optimistic over the busy period,” explained Thomas Tuchel and affirmed: “We are ready for it. I can feel the spirit of the team. We are hungry for more victories.”

The Manager sees day in and day out the wealth of talented players at his disposal. “Tomorrow we could field all 21 players – and all of them would perform at the highest level,” claimed Tuchel. He invoked “the particular spirit in this small group for the next six weeks” and called on them to “do everything in their power to stay healthy”. This is because “the busy period is about to commence with games in a three-day cycle hopefully over 6 weeks. We will need all of the players available to us to maintain the high standards of the squad”.

Nuri Sahin will also be available in the foreseeable future. Asked about him, Thomas Tuchel said: “Nuri will be crucial for us”. 

Ilkay Gündogan and Marco Reus will accompany the team on their late afternoon flight to Berlin. Both were unavailable against Ingolstadt due to virus’. Tuchel will be hoping that Reus’ recurring muscular issues will not come back to bite him. “He trained comfortably after having had a week out. He will be able to play on Saturday, which is great news for us,” said Tuchel, and with regards to the coming weeks, added: “He must prove himself in practice and feel good in the matches”.

Boris Rupert

BVB total! Video: The entire Press Conference with Thomas Tuchel, available for all.