According to coach Edin Terzic, the sporting construction sites at Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund also have to do with a lack of motivation on the part of the players.
"It takes a certain form of intrinsic motivation from the boys that they want to turn it off themselves," said Terzic - and that is "lacking in certain phases". Before the game in the league against VfB Stuttgart on Saturday (3:30 p.m. / Sky), the 39-year-old asked his team to put an end to the abuses. "It's not like it's happening on purpose. But I miss that we're fighting back. We don't learn from it," complained the Sauerland native. Borussia's season so far has been characterized by inconsistent performances.
Terzic and the principles
"There are a few principles that we want to see. The first principle defensively is that we don't want to avoid a duel," explained Terzic. "When you see around the 30th minute how many times we were in 3-on-1 situations and how many times the opposing central defenders were able to dribble through midfield without us grabbing hold of it. That's why we conceded so many chances to score," he summed up after the flattering 2-0 win at second division side Hannover 96 on Wednesday.
Another principle of Terzic' Borussia is to want to allow as few duels as possible when in possession. "When you see how we start to play for contacts instead of effectiveness in a confined space, then you shouldn't be surprised that you invite the opponent to counterattack.
The Stuttgart team travel to the Signal-Iduna-Park with tailwind after the change of coach and with ten goals scored in two games - and they should welcome the restraint of Borussia in duels. After the 6-0 win in the cup against second division team Bielefeld, interim coach Michael Wimmer will look after the Swabians at least in Dortmund.
Sports director Sebastian Kehl used the word "must" extensively and demanded after the happy victory in the DFB Cup: "We have to be more stable and play better football." Before the game on Saturday, the 42-year-old expressed worries about the goals for the season: "We have to learn quickly, we have to get back on track quickly so that we don't lose sight of our overall goals in the end."
Hope for Reus return
An encouragement for BVB: According to Kehl, captain Marco Reus will be back at the weekend after the injury-related break in Hanover. Last Sunday he made his comeback in a 2-0 defeat at leaders Union Berlin and was rested in the cup due to a minor injury. On the other hand, full-back Thomas Meunier will be out until the World Cup break due to a broken cheekbone. The Belgian has already had surgery but is hoping to play at the World Cup.
