Gregor Kobel has been at BVB for a year. We look back with him on his first season playing in black and yellow, on the training camp and he reveals his goals for the second year.

You finished your holiday two days earlier than planned. Were you desperate to get back to Dortmund?
"I couldn't wait to be back with the team, in the training centre with the lads and get stuck into the new season."

And yet you started training later than other players. What's the current situation?
"I'm not yet at the level I would be if I'd been training from the beginning, that's for sure. But we're at the training camp now and we'll work hard here to get our fitness back to where it needs to be as quickly as possible."

As a player, do you look forward to the training camp?
"You know what's in store. But it's also always nice to be in a different place. We have great conditions here, this is a top facility. Just spending some time with the lads, doing some team-building, getting to know the new players and creating bonds, that's what we're here for."

After your return, you found a new goalkeeping team made up of Alex Meyer, Marcel Lotka and Silas Ostrzinski from the U23s. What are your first impressions?
"They're all great guys. We have a group we can work well with."

You said in an interview: "The move to Dortmund was a big step." How do you reflect on that move one year later?
"I'm mega happy to be here. I'm having a lot of fun in Dortmund with the ambitions that go hand in hand with Borussia Dortmund: wanting to win every game and pick up as many points as possible."

What was it like playing at the SIGNAL IDUNA PARK for the first time?
"It's always special when you play in a home stadium for the first time — especially one like ours. Unfortunately, we didn't have full capacity right away, it was a slow build-up. But even back then, with 25,000 spectators, I was already loving it."

And the first time it was full?
"That was awesome. Hearing the music and running onto the pitch, it was an incredible feeling. With the Yellow Wall behind me, I try to use that energy and push the fans, I like that."

You've become one of the fan favourites in your first year. How do you react to that?
"I don't really. It's nice to hear and I'm grateful to everyone who supports me and enjoys watching me play, but I just try to focus on my performance, being who I am, and that's about it."

What goals have you set for your second year?
"To grow with the team, to get better every day, and to straighten out the things that didn't go so well last year, especially in the cup competitions — but of course also in the league."
Interview: Christina Reinke