Interview
Sebastian Kehl interview: "I love this club"
What motivated you to continue your journey at Borussia Dortmund?
"I'm really looking forward to going further in my career at Borussia Dortmund. Obviously, I've grown very fond of this club over the past 24 years. I've had a really exciting ride here. When I first came in 2001, I signed my contract on 6 January, which was almost exactly 24 years ago. To have now decided on this extension makes me proud. I know that it is a very exciting, very demanding job that I have taken on with a lot of passion and ambition over the past few years. And I'm really looking forward to continuing to help shape the future with everyone involved and being responsible for representing this club both domestically and internationally."
How important was it for you to finalise this decision before the action gets going again on the pitch?
"We've had a few conversations recently, of course. That's quite normal because there were a few things to discuss and we wanted to go over things very carefully. Lars (Ricken, note) already mentioned at the general meeting that it was his wish and also that of the club for us to keep working together. We have now intensified that. It was very, very constructive. The relationship of trust with everyone involved has naturally been very strong over the years. I've known Aki Watzke for half my life in management with Carsten (Cramer, note) and Thomas (Tress, note). I played together with our new managing director Lars. It was important for me to continue to feel this trust. It was important for me that we lay out our responsibilities and define a common path for the future. We have done this very successfully over the past few days. I can promise that I will do everything I can to ensure that this club continues to be successful."
Borussia Dortmund must be more than just an employer for you.
"Yes, absolutely. Borussia Dortmund is my club. My children were born here. I have celebrated many triumphs on and off the pitch in this city. And of course, the goal is to make it even more successful in the coming years, to continue shaping the future of the club. That means a lot to me. This city and its people have grown close to my heart. I live this club with all my passion. I am fond of all the employees. I know how much this club means to the people here in the region and what a big responsibility it is. And yet I've always taken it on with a sense of fun and a lot of ambition. And that's what I can promise for the future."
What motivates you to continue giving everything, every day, so that the club can be successful?
"To make this club continue to be competitive, to be one of the 10 or 12 best clubs in Europe. I believe we face a lot of challenges on this front. But that drives me to fly our Black & Yellow flag on the international stage, but also to win domestic titles again. We were close to that two years ago. We of course had many, many great years before that too. But it will be an exciting task in the future to continue working towards these goals and to bring titles back to Dortmund. That's what drives me personally, that's what drives this whole club. These are our ambitions and I believe that it's worth giving everything for the people at this club."
Let's take a look at the next few months, which will certainly present some challenges with the new Champions League format, the table situation in the Bundesliga, the Club World Cup and the resultant shortened summer break. How are you looking ahead?
"With great excitement. First of all, of course, we have short-term goals. That means we want to get off to a good start in the Bundesliga with a home match against Bayer Leverkusen. We know that we have some catching up to do in the Bundesliga. We are not where we want to be. The overriding goal is, of course, to make up places in the table, finish the season among the best teams in Germany again and qualify for the Champions League. We have to achieve that. Then we have exciting games ahead of us in the Champions League, where we have the opportunity to finish directly among the top eight teams in Europe. That would obviously help us enormously, both in our planning and also give us a bit of breathing space in February. Then the season will hopefully take a really exciting course. The Club World Cup then awaits us in the summer, a completely new format, a very exciting prospect of competing with the best teams in the world. Of course, the overriding aim is to position ourselves really well there too and represent our Black & Yellow colours. But before that, there are a lot of other things to do and that's what I'm looking forward to. I'm working every day with the team, with the coach, with Lars, with all our staff to achieve these goals so that we can be successful again as quickly as possible. And then let's see what else we can do this season."