Well, what was it against Roma ?: Borussia Dortmund are frustrated and angry

Thursday 03 December 2020

By Felix Meininghaus, Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund entered the Champions League round of 16 prematurely with an unfavorable draw against Lazio Roma, but Revierklub cannot be really satisfied with the current situation. The penalty for the Italian guests angered sporting director Michael Zorc.

Lucien Favre is actually known as a balanced and calm person. A man who doses his emotions so sparingly that some observers call him boring. On Wednesday evening, as midnight slowly approached, the French-speaking Swiss was seen in a different physical state: Favre became annoyed, took his hand away, abruptly interrupted the interview and left the journalist from pay TV.

Much to the coach’s indignation, he had not adequately appreciated Borussia Dortmund’s premature entry into the knockout stage of the Champions League. Instead, he asked more critical questions. At the press conference he explained why the 63-year-old considered it inappropriate: “Six weeks ago it was the end of the world, now we are qualified – and Lazio not yet”.

You can see it this way when you look back at the start of the group stage, when BVB made a terrifying appearance in the Eternal City and clearly lost. Now in the home stadium there was a 1: 1 (1: 0), which was enough to reach the minimum goal. Next week, Dortmund will be able to win the group with the last of St. Petersburg, eliminated, thus increasing their chances of getting a beatable opponent in the round of 16.

“Depth, guys, depth”

They are pleasant facts, yet the centuries-old excursus after extraction, whether the glass is half full or half empty, can also be used in the neighborhood. After all, the hosts acted decisively over long distances in the freezing concrete cup of B1, but the performance against the Italians was not intoxicating. One of the few good things about the overwhelming atmosphere of a ghost game is that the characters’ instructions are easy to understand. And so defense chief Mats Hummels could be clearly heard over and over again when he asked his front, “Deep, guys, deep.”

We have never seen the raids carried out with great strength and speed, with which the Dortmunders manage to override their opponents on good days. It is clear that Borussia are having trouble getting the high horsepower of their turbo racing car to the track at the start of Advent. Especially now that his super striker Erling Haaland has gone on sick leave for the rest of the year with a muscle tear.

None of this helps create a high-end atmosphere that would be appropriate for the occasion. Rather, they feel like a hamster in Dortmund walking on its wheel without really moving. Once again they think they’re on their way when the team, studded with top-tier talent, conjure up exciting football on the pitch, but then the setback occurs just as regularly when Favre’s ensemble is brought to their knees by a opponent that is much less qualitative has to offer.

There have been such low blows in Augsburg this season, most recently in the home defeat against Cologne and in Rome. Shrugging at inexplicable setbacks is now as much part of Borussia’s standard repertoire as clicking on the tongue. Managing Director Hans-Joachim Watzke and his colleagues must await the decisive development step that would be needed to be able to seriously challenge the permanent champions of Munich.

More recently, Hummels, who had to be replaced by severe pain in the finals after a duel with Ciro Immobile, said after their convincing win against Bruges that this team “just needs the focus and determination to win” to win. get great things. . A self-image that is part of the legacy of the former Southern Hummel employer. After the home defeat against 1. FC Köln and the draw against Lazio Roma, the noble words of the 2014 world champion are nothing more than paperwork.

Borussia’s journey of self-discovery continues, the 1-1 draw against Lazio offers little information that Borussia are making decisive progress on their path. Instead, it was possible to discuss the penalty that Immobile sank to compensate. This was preceded by a rather awkward entry by substitute Nico Schulz against Sergei Milinkovic-Savic, who however started the flight phase so early that Michael Zorc is red with rage.

This penalty was “absolutely annoying”, infuriated the BVB sporting director. If such a decision is not corrected, “we do not need a video referee. He will be led to absurdity if he does not intervene”. This punishment was an “obviously wrong decision”. Favre saw it exactly the same way: “Of course, no rigor, that’s theater, but nobody says anything”. However, this scene did not influence his conclusion: “We are qualified. Period, done”.