Gregor Kobel was the tragic figure in Dortmund’s defeat by Bayern. kicker columnist Uli Stein thinks: The blunder can be explained, but the effect lasted too long.
Gregor Kobel gave FC Bayern a goal in the top game – which Uli Stein (right) considers “explainable”.
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Gregor Kobel’s momentous mistake in the top game in the Bundesliga was bitter enough for Borussia Dortmund. It was made even worse by the fact that the opening goal for FC Bayern had not previously been indicated. Thomas Müller spoke of a “liberation”, a “chest release”, Joshua Kimmich after the “nervous” start of his team of “pure luck”.
Afterwards, Kobel (kicker score 5.5), who had played so well this season, received a lot of encouragement from his BVB colleagues and admitted his mistakes just as openly as the “kink” that the Dortmund game got from him. When asked whether he was partly to blame for the third goal he conceded a little later, he denied: “The first one is on me, otherwise I don’t see much,” said the Swiss, who saved a long-range shot from Leroy Sané before the 3-0 goal fended off where Müller was already lurking and dusting off.
“The mistake worked too much and for too long in him”
Uli Stein got a different impression. “We are humans, humans make mistakes. Dealing with them, processing them quickly is crucial,” writes the former Bundesliga goalkeeper in his kicker column (Monday edition). “Kobel’s behavior in the third goal suggests to me that the error affected him too much and for too long. It made a lasting impression on him. He only recovered in the second half, but by then it was too late.”
Stein considers it “explainable” that Kobel missed Dayot Upamecano’s ball, which he had hit from his own half. Because: “On closer inspection, the ball had a strange trajectory. Passes in the depths in the direction of your own goal are one of the most difficult challenges for a goalkeeper anyway,” said the 68-year-old ex-national player. “The decision to stay in the penalty area would probably have been the better one here. But you only have the secure feeling for it if you’ve been fully competitive for weeks. Kobel’s recent inconsistent match practice may have had a disadvantageous effect.”
Stein is nevertheless confident that Kobel will emerge stronger from the game. The 25-year-old has the necessary mental strength and will “remain one of the best for years to come”.
Every Monday, current and former football greats from the kicker circle of columnists write in kicker. Here you can get kicker as an eMagazine with a Flex subscription.
