It was quite a sprint for a goalkeeper. Gregor Kobel ran across the field to celebrate with Serhou Guirassy. “Everyone knows that as a striker it’s crap if you wait for a goal. And when you come off the bench and reward yourself like that, it’s good for everyone,” said the Borussia Dortmund keeper after Guirassy scored again after seven games without a goal. For the center forward this was like a relief. Kobel could more than understand the feeling. “Because the emotional aspect is hugely important in football,” he explained.
The goal to make it 3-0 against Werder Bremen, which Guirassy scored in the 83rd minute, was the Guinean’s first since October 31st. It wasn’t played out well, but was the result of a blackout by Bremen defender Amos Pieper. He lost control in the build-up game when he was tackled by Jobe Bellingham. Guirassy reacted and shot the ball eleven meters into the right corner. “He stayed cool,” said Kobel.
Guirassy had rarely given this impression in recent months. The unusually long crisis of the attacker, who was something like BVB’s life insurance last season thanks to his 34 goals in 45 competitive games (excluding the Club World Cup in the summer), had left its mark. Although coach Niko Kovac was loyal to the 29-year-old, Guirassy was less and less successful. That got on my nerves. And last Friday, with the 3-3 draw in Frankfurt, nothing seemed to be working anymore. The game almost completely passed him by. Things couldn’t go on like this anymore.
“I don’t want to praise myself,” says Kovac
Kovac had to act. If he hadn’t done so, he might have found himself in need of an explanation. So he fielded Fabio Silva, the striker who was recently much more popular with the public because he was more agile – and put Guirassy on the bench for only the second time this season. In the 67th minute he replaced Maxi Beier. It was 1-0, but BVB wasn’t playing well. Only then did things get a little better. Marcel Sabitzer increased the score to 2-0 in the 76th minute – seven minutes later the Guirassy moment came.
“I don’t want to praise myself now,” Kovac said afterwards with a slightly ironic undertone. Because of course it was also a bit of luck that his striker roulette worked out like it did. “The fact that the ball now falls right in front of Serhou’s feet is something he hasn’t had that luck of late,” said the coach. However, “the games open up more in the second half. An attacker has more space.” In this respect, Kovac certainly hoped that things would turn out the way they actually did.
Because BVB needs Guirassy – a striker with his presence who binds the defenders. And in that regard, despite his crisis, which is far from over with Tuesday’s goal, he has an advantage over Fabio Silva. The Portuguese is a different type – much more active, strong in direct duels. But the 23-year-old, who came from Wolverhampton Wanderers for 22.5 million euros in the summer, is not a classic goalkeeper like Guirassy if he is in top form. Silva is also still waiting for his first Bundesliga goal.
This is also why so many BVB professionals were happy about Guirassy’s goal. “I think the knot has broken. We will now see the striker we know. You can also tell that a little bit of him has fallen away,” said Nico Schlotterbeck. The central defender knows what this means for Guirassy. “It’s not easy when a lot of people are targeting you.”
Guirassy could end up on the bench again
Guirassy, as his teammates’ comments suggest, never let himself down in training and never let his personal frustrations out. “He is a quiet, polite, decent guy,” explained Kobel. The goalkeeper cannot share the impression that Guirassy is an egocentric who is only interested in his personal success. But of course strikers would primarily be measured by goals. “And when someone who is so famous for putting things in on the assembly line has to wait a little bit, the frustration is of course great.”
However, it is unclear whether Kovac will switch back to the attack center straight away. Silva wasn’t able to impress as much as he did as a substitute in recent games. But promptly taking him out of the team would be a tough decision – and possibly also send the wrong signal to Guirassy. Because his performance in the past few months has simply been too weak for that.
