The BVB training ground in Marbella, Spain, is almost unusually full these days, where the Bundesliga club is preparing intensively for the restart in two weeks against FC Augsburg. Borussia Dortmund traveled to the training camp with a nearly full band after many players had returned from injury or illness. A new competitive situation has arisen.
With very few exceptions, such as Jude Bellingham in BVB midfield and Gregor Kobel in goal, no player in the black and yellow seems to have his regular place for the rest of the season in the Bundesliga, Champions League and DFB Cup.
The cards are being reshuffled again these days. Head coach Edin Terzic wants to create new incentives with his larger group and encourage his star players to do better.
“You can tell that everyone is giving their all. Everyone is trying to get their regular spot. In the pre-season, it’s also part of showing what you can do. But all in all, we’re happy as a team to have the long-term injured back with us. Haller in particular To be back on the pitch makes us happy as a team,” Dortmund midfielder Salih Özcan summarized his impressions of the training camp to a media panel on Sunday.
Öczan has made 18 competitive appearances for BVB so far
The previous first half of the season, which BVB only finished sixth in the table after 15 matchdays in December, has now been analyzed and discussed in detail. “You can always improve as a team, and that’s what we train for here. Now it’s down to business!” said the almost 25-year-old.
The much greater competition also affects Özcan’s position in the central defensive midfield itself, as Mahmoud Dahoud, a fixture from the past, recently returned to team training after recovering from a shoulder injury.
“Every player has the ability to be a regular player. Even the players who come off the bench have the opportunity to give it their all. You can see that and you notice it in training. The players have enormous quality. You notice that and everyone tries to step on the gas and push each other up,” continued Özcan, who wants to face the new situation at the Westphalians with self-confidence.
In his first season at BVB, the ex-Cologne native has played 18 competitive games for Borussia Dortmund.
