A crowd of 21,327 at Carl-Benz-Stadion poured some cash into SV Waldhof Mannheim’s coffers and created a real “competitive atmosphere”, according to Jürgen Klopp who added with a smile: “They shouted at us, and they woke us up” at a stage of the game where the fourth division side gave Borussia a good run for their money.

Peppered with players from last season’s under-17 side that won the German Championship, BVB - after dominating the opening half - lifted the pace another notch midway through the second half to cruise to a comfortable 4-0 win over the fourth-tier side. “Today I saw the present and the future,” said Klopp, well-pleased with the game, the result and the opposition. “We won 4-0 against a very good fourth-division side. No one got injured and it was a success all round for us. And I’m happy that we were able to help out.”

“Everyone’s fit, but not fit enough to play“
It was another stern test and another step forward for many of BVB’s World Cup players, for Mats Hummels, Adrian Ramos, Sven Bender and Jakub Blaszczykowski, however, Tuesday’s game came a day or two too early. “Everyone’s fit,” said Klopp, adding, “but not fit enough to play today.”

Ramos, who suffered a minor knee sprain in the cup game at Stuttgart 10 days ago, is “98 percent pain free”, according to Klopp, missing the vital two percent. Hummels has “a reactive muscular tension, and we will not take any risks with him,” while Bender’s having a “little niggle in his back”.

On Friday in Augsburg Klopp will have 13 or 14 first squad players at his disposal – and he has more options in store. Klopp: “I saw Matze Ginter putting in a strong performance in the No 6 role, and I also saw some other very young lads.”

“I’m ready to return in goal on Friday“
And then there is Roman Weidenfeller. “Good to have him back,” said Klopp and revealed, “I already thought about bringing him on against Leverkusen, but I wanted to take this opportunity to see him having 21 players running in front of him. If nothing happens on the way home, he will play on Friday…”

Weidenfeller made little fuss about his “BVB comeback“ after 101 days. “It was nothing special as I’m used to being in goal. It was great, however, that there was such a large crowd. It was an electric atmosphere.” More importantly, he said: “I’m ready to return in goal on Friday.”