Post-Match Report
Waldemar Anton is a symbol of BVB's resilience
The 30-year-old German national team player was the standout performer in Borussia Dortmund’s defense when it came down to preserving the narrow 2-1 victory over SV Elversberg in the closing minutes. A 95 percent pass completion rate—the best among all players on both teams—attests to the defender’s composure.
Waldemar Anton is the symbol of BVB’s resilience. Not only did he play the full 90 minutes in all nine matches between the two international breaks, but he also played in all nine league matchdays. And in the UEFA Champions League as well. Only in the DFB-Pokal did he get a breather in the first round, in the match against HEBC Hamburg, after 66 minutes. Or to put it another way: In the first 16 competitive matches already played, Anton was on the field for 1,417 out of a possible 1,440 regular minutes of play. Plus stoppage time.
The other regular player is Felix Nmecha. He, too, played in every one of those nine games from early October through early November, though he was in the starting lineup “only” eight times. And with two goals, he was the match-winner in the hard-fought 2-1 victory over SV Elversberg. “We all know what qualities and potential he has,” said Managing Director Lars Ricken on Saturday evening about Nmecha. Sporting Director Ole Book added: “With his talent, his qualities, and his technique, he is one of the best midfielders in the world.”
Head coach Niko Kovac looked back to the past to emphasize Nmecha’s importance: “Last season, we didn’t have him for the last five games, and you could clearly see that our play slowed down a bit as a result. With him, we’re on a whole different level.”
Felix Nmecha has won nearly 60 percent of his tackles this season and completed nine out of every ten passes to a teammate. And he makes the most of very little. The scoring chances he’s had so far this season would have suggested an expected goal total of 0.73—just under one. But the 26-year-old has already scored four goals.
Recovery time was only 64 hours
The match against Elversberg was the ninth in 29 days. You could tell the team was feeling it. And the visitors wanted to take advantage of that. “Nine games—that’s brutal. Of course, that was the slight advantage we had. We tried to make the most of it,” said SVE coach Vincent Wagner, whose team impressively reaffirmed the strong impression they’ve made so far this season and nearly came away with a point,
Niko Kovac saw it similarly, but emphasized—given the short turnaround between the UEFA Champions League match late Wednesday night against Sevilla and the Bundesliga match early Saturday afternoon—“Wednesday at 9 p.m. and Saturday at 3:30 p.m.: That’s the shortest recovery time you can have.” What annoyed him: “We didn’t keep pushing, and we didn’t go for the third goal. 2–0 sounds very convincing, but to me, 2–0 is a worse result than 1–0. Because you know: with a 1–0 lead, you have to defend it at home.”
The final push? It’s back to business for the national team players
The Bundesliga takes a break this coming weekend. For BVB, the season resumes on November 21 with an away game at Borussia Mönchengladbach. In the 29 days leading up to the winter break, there will be “only” eight games—one fewer than in the cycle just completed.
Until league play resumes in the Lower Rhine region after the break, the majority of the players from the BVB squad will be on international duty over the next ten days. “I hope the lads come back healthy, and above all, I hope they don’t have to play two 90-minute matches,” said Niko Kovac, adding: “But what I hope for is one thing; what I get is usually the other…”
Boris Rupert