“We can hardly wait” – BVB, favorites versus Lübeck
The summer break is ended, and Borussia Dortmund will play their first competitive encounter of the 2024/25 season on Saturday. The Black and Yellows will travel to Hamburg to face 1. FC Phönix Lübeck (kickoff 18:00 CEST, live on Sky) in Nuri Sahin’s first competitive match as Borussia Dortmund head coach.
“If I had to summarise the first few weeks, it would be entirely positive,” Nuri Sahin says of his early days as BVB coach. The veteran player and former assistant coach has been in charge since July. “It feels so amazing. I feel ready, and I am confident that my squad is as well. We can’t wait for the competitive bouts to begin. “We begin with the DFB-Pokal, which is extremely important to us.”
Borussia Dortmund has finished five weeks of preseason preparations, which included a trip to Asia, a training camp in Bad Ragaz, and six warm-up games (three victories, two draws, and one loss). Five new players have joined the squad. Sahin’s “absolute dream player,” Maximilian Beier, barely arrived in the Ruhr region on Monday: “He’s a vital transfer for us. We wanted to sign someone based on his profile. He can play in a variety of positions, has a deep game, creates space, and gets into the proper spots in the box. Yan Couto, a right-back, arrived during training camp. BVB had already completed deals for Serhou Guirassy, who would miss the cup game due to injury, Waldemar Anton, and Pascal Gross.
A new hierarchy.
When Sahin initially spoke with Gross, he had the feeling that he was ‘talking to someone who understands what he wants, who knows what he’s doing. He improves the players around him, has excellent tactical skills, and finds opportunities for his teammates.” Together with Anton, the coach expects him to take the lead in the team’s new hierarchy. “Something is growing within the crew. “I see a group that is growing together and wants to accomplish something,” Sahin explained.
Anton and Gross are among the EURO players who began their preparations only a fortnight ago. Nonetheless, the squad immediately aligned. “I’m feeling quite fine. I have the sensation in every practice that everyone is participating, everyone knows what it’s all about, and everyone wants it,” stated Sahin, whose tactical recommendations were swiftly implemented by his players. “I’m really pleased with what the lads are learning, digesting, and attempting to bring to the pitch. Against Villarreal and Aston Villa, I saw a team that worked together at all times. You could see where we intended to go. We’re not there yet, but we’re moving in the right direction.”
Lübeck’s fourth game.
Borussia will have to put their preseason preparations to the test in a competitive match on Saturday. The cup tie will be Phönix Lübeck’s fourth encounter of the season. After losing 2-1 in a Landespokal derby against VfB Lübeck and 2-0 away to Lohne in the Regionalliga Nord opener, the Schleswig-Holstein fourth-tier club celebrated their first win of the season with a 3-1 success over VfB Oldenburg last weekend. “We know exactly how they play,” explained Sahin. “However, we don’t know how they’ll approach a cup encounter against Borussia Dortmund. We expect to have a lot of possession.” The coach and his team have prepared intensively for this Lübeck side, and Sahin says they will “definitely not underestimate” their opponents.
Borussia Dortmund’s goal is to go to the second round of the cup. The journey should continue all the way to Berlin. “We want to win the DFB-Pokal,” Sahin declares before his first competitive encounter as BVB coach.
