Bundesliga Borussia Dortmund
Terzic defends himself against criticism of his tactics
Status: 08.12.2023 | Reading time: 4 minutes
“We urgently need to bring in consistency” – BVB under pressure against Leipzig
After recent weak performances, BVB wants to turn things around in the top game against RB Leipzig. “We know that the pressure is greater in Dortmund and of course I feel that too,” says Edin Terzic before the chase duel.
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After the exit from the DFB Cup, the pressure on Edin Terzic is increasing. Before the top game against RB Leipzig, he defended himself against accusations that BVB was playing too defensively. He also has a surprise in store for the squad.
Edin Terzic didn’t want to waste any time after the disaster in Stuttgart. On Thursday morning, immediately after returning from the Baden-Württemberg state capital, the Borussia Dortmund coach gathered his players in the meeting room.
It was time to come to terms with a performance that had caused BVB more than just elimination from the DFB Cup. Above all, it was the way in which the 0:2 (0:1) result in the round of 16 of the competition came about that raised questions.
Terzic wanted to hear answers from his players. As quickly as possible, because another difficult task is coming up on Saturday: in the Bundesliga against RB Leipzig (6.30 p.m., Sky). “It was an extremely disappointing evening – both in terms of the result, the performance and the injuries we sustained. It was a completely used day,” said Terzic. Then the BVB coach made a demand of the team. “Our clear task is to do better as quickly as possible – i.e. on Saturday against Leipzig.”
“We don’t need to talk about anything else” – Stuttgart dreams of the DFB Cup final
BVB is struggling with its own performance after the deserved quarter-final exit. VfB Stuttgart, on the other hand, is already dreaming of the final in Berlin – and striker Deniz Undav is dreaming of the European Championship in Germany for Germany.
The people of Dortmund are familiar with the feeling of having to make amends. Fluctuations in performance run like a common thread through the season. That was already the case after the 4-0 defeat in the home game against FC Bayern on November 4th. Back then, it actually worked: three days later, BVB won 1-0 in Newcastle.
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Even after the 1-2 defeat in Stuttgart in the Bundesliga on November 11th and the subsequent international break, the team got back on track: Borussia Mönchengladbach was beaten (4-2), and they were even able to hibernate early thanks to a 3-1 win at AC Milan achieved in the Champions League. The team should now once again demonstrate their comeback quality against Leipzig. However, after the criticism following the cup exit, a convincing performance would be particularly necessary this time in terms of atmosphere.
“There are pressure situations for every coach”
The pressure on the team and their coach on Saturday will be immense. Terzic is aware of this. “I believe that there are pressure situations for every Bundesliga coach. We know that there are a few clubs where the pressure is even greater,” admitted the 41-year-old. However, there is no pressure that is greater than what “I put on myself,” says Terzic.
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What concerns him is that it is simply not possible to stabilize the team in the long term. In the meantime, BVB certainly gave the impression that it had made progress in this endeavor – only to then just as quickly fall back into old patterns. That’s what makes it so difficult. Because there can “always be these setbacks,” said the coach. “And this is always immediately made into an issue.”
However, the current prevailing topic is whether Terzic himself recently chose the right means. In Stuttgart he opted for an extremely cautious approach – with a five-man chain and a compact midfield. The plan didn’t work.
Paris Brunner in the squad for the first time
BVB was harmless on offense for almost the entire game. And as a result, vulnerable defensively. But that, Terzic justified himself, had nothing to do with the alignment. “We didn’t take a more defensive approach in Stuttgart. The only problem was what we did when we had the ball,” he said. Because balls won were immediately lost, uncertainty arose. Incidentally, there has been frequent criticism this season for supposedly offensive orientations.
The fact is, however, that the coach, in whom club boss Hans-Joachim Watzke remains convinced, also runs the risk of coming under even more criticism himself. Terzic knows that his team has to deliver against Leipzig because the unrest has increased. “We definitely have to make an effort to give the fans in the stands a good feeling,” he said.
Dortmund will have to do without Youssoufa Moukoko, who tore a muscle fiber in his thigh, and Julian Ryerson, who suffered a knee injury in Stuttgart. U17 World Cup hero Paris Brunner could act as a substitute. The 17-year-old exceptional talent, who recently won the title with the German youth team at the tournament in Indonesia, will be part of BVB’s Bundesliga squad for the first time. “That is the clear plan,” said Terzic on Friday afternoon.
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