Post-Match Report
An important win – especially with a view to competitors
That was a statement in its own right. Four days after an extremely disappointing first half in the Champions League match at Tottenham Hotspur, the team got back to basics and, unlike Bayern, Leipzig and Stuttgart, did not stumble in what Nico Schlotterbeck described as “the toughest away game in the league”. “We took up the fight, we upped the intensity, we fought passionately, and at times we also played really decent football,” said Niko Kovac, summing up the thrilling 90 minutes at the Alte Försterei, adding: “Overall, I was very satisfied with the performance. We showed what we had to show. Otherwise, the game would not have ended that way.”
It ended 3-0 thanks to goals from Emre Can (penalty), Nico Schlotterbeck and Maximilian Beier. The order of the goalscorers also indirectly underlines the virtues that were required. The defenders were in the foreground, well ahead of the creative attacking forces. First the fight, then a little bit of glamour. “We wanted to present them with the same difficulties they wanted to present us with: long balls, physicality, tackles. We embraced that and wanted to do it even better,” said Gregor Kobel, revealing the team’s approach.
Captain Emre Can led the way. Not only because he confidently converted his 12th penalty in his Bundesliga career, “even though I made a mistake. I actually wanted to shoot to the right corner, but changed direction at the last moment, which isn’t really a good thing. You should stick to your first idea.” The 32-year-old threw himself into every tackle and won every race for the ball, including the 34.5 km/h sprint with Stanley Nsoki. “Emre does everything for the success of the club, for the success of the team,” emphasised managing director Lars Ricken: “That’s why he is now our captain under our fourth coach. He takes responsibility, he throws himself into tackles, he carries his teammates with him.”
3-3 in Frankfurt, 3-0 against Bremen, 3-2 against St. Pauli and now 3-0 at Union Berlin: The results are good for Borussia Dortmund. The discussion about the “B grade” continues. “If we play good football, then they say we’re not getting enough points,” said Can, referring to previous seasons with lots of spectacle but poor results: “If we don’t play such attractive football but get points, then they say: Why aren’t you playing good football? It’s hard to please everyone. The points haul in the Bundesliga is fine.”
42 points after 19 games, 16 more than a year ago, is very good. But the race for the top spots remains close. That’s why Lars Ricken is not looking at the gap to Bayern Munich (eight points!), but at the deceptive nine-point lead over fifth place (as of Sunday afternoon). “In the end, we have to look at ourselves, because all the teams behind us have also won,” said the sporting director on Saturday evening in freezing cold Berlin. And all the teams in third to sixth place still have a game in hand.
Boris Rupert
