MIt can sometimes be quite challenging to understand the thoughts and reflections of Anthony Modeste. Sometimes the Borussia Dortmund striker follows his heart, which then leads him to 1. FC Köln, as the 34-year-old Frenchman also affirms as a BVB employee. In other cases, he follows the money, which is why he moved to China in 2017 and wanted to emigrate to Saudi Arabia last winter, which he was forbidden to do with reference to an ongoing contract in Cologne.
And somehow sporting ambition and a thirst for adventure also play a role when Modeste plans his life, which is why he is now – as an elderly professional – giving a premiere. “I’ve always had the dream of experiencing the Champions League,” he says of his move to BVB, which he decided “not because of the money” because: “I turned down big offers from the Gulf countries.”
reason of change
This Tuesday (6.45 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Champions League and on Amazon Prime) he can listen to the famous anthem as a player on the lawn for the first time, Dortmund meets FC Copenhagen. For the first time in the Champions League in front of a south stand filled with 25,000 people, recently standing room is allowed.
With Modeste, Nico Schlotterbeck, Salih Özcan and maybe even Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, who was injured after a shoulder injury, a number of Dortmund professionals will experience their debut in the premier class this evening, but coach Edin Terzić explicitly pointed out his number nine on Monday: “We In Tony Modeste we have a very experienced player who wanted to join us because he wanted to experience those floodlit games in the Champions League.”
Terzić and Modeste are getting to know each other better and it’s very interesting to see how this relationship develops. The top scorer scored his first goal in the 1-0 win at Hertha BSC a week and a half ago, after which he immediately went to the coaching zone to celebrate. “The coach always supported me. I wanted to thank you for that.”
Modeste is a guy who needs that kind of closeness more than most colleagues. Terzić now explicitly praises his attacker for “working hard”, but also says: “He didn’t come to BVB to score a goal, but to score a lot of goals.” Does Modeste see these words as extra motivation? Or does he feel pressured by such a statement? It’s not easy with this soccer player who can be so much fun. When he’s really comfortable.
