Borussia Dortmund Haberleri

The initial focus is on the clash with Leverkusen. “A few weeks ago, we set ourselves the goal of going into the winter break as the Bundesliga leaders,” reveals Mike Tullberg. Back then, however, conditions were more favourable than they are now. On the one hand, Tullberg has major personnel problems to deal with and, on the other, the team lacks the rhythm of playing competitive matches.

Ryerson injured his knee in stoppage time and had to leave the pitch with support. He will not play again this year due to an inner ligament injury. “We’ll have to wait for the next few days to make a final diagnosis and define an exact period of absence,” said BVB coach Edin Terzic.

Last Sunday was a very special day for Dennis Lütke-Frie. The now 20-year-old made his delayed debut in senior football following a one-and-a-half-year spell on the sidelines. Flashback: 29 May 2022 was probably the best day of Dennis Lütke-Frie’s life to date. The midfielder led the BVB U19s onto the field for the German Championship Final, which the Black & Yellows won 2-1 away to Hertha BSC, as captain. He was then promoted to the U23s, where he wanted to hit the ground running. But things turned out differently: a torn lateral collateral ligament and two metatarsal fractures in succession kept the BVB youngster sidelined for the entirety of the 2022/23 campaign and a large part of the first half of this season.

The match on Saturday evening is between the teams in fourth and fifth. Borussia Dortmund currently occupy fifth spot in the table with 25 points. Leipzig are a point ahead in fourth position. While the Saxony side exited the DFB-Pokal in the second round and were therefore not in action during the week, BVB had to make the trip to VfB Stuttgart in the DFB-Pokal round of 16 on Tuesday evening and lost by a 2-0 scoreline. “It was an extremely disappointing evening, both in terms of the performance and the result as well as the four injuries,” reflected Terzic.

“It was a brilliant experience that will never leave us,” said Paris Brunner, who was voted player of the tournament. The Germany U17s played their first group match against Mexico on 12 November. A 3-1 opening win was followed by victories over New Zealand (3-1) and Venezuela (3-0). In the knockout round, the U17 Mannschaft made it through the round of 16 with a 3-2 win over the USA, before edging out Spain 1-0 in the quarter-finals. “They were exhausting games played in 35 degree heat. Spain dominated possession, but we played with mentality, willpower and aggression,” recalls Brunner. The young German side then defeated Argentina on penalties (4-2) to make it to the final, in which they triumphed over France, also on penalties. 

Marius Wolf rolled his ankle in the first half and had to be substituted at the break due to an ankle injury that has not yet been diagnosed. Marcel Sabitzer took a knock to his calf while according to Terzic, Youssoufa Moukoko felt “a twinge in the back of his thigh”. The biggest concern is Julian Ryerson. Sebastian Kehl explained: “The knee is swollen. That’s not a good sign.” Edin Terzic added: “We’re keeping our fingers crossed that the boys will be available again soon.” (br)

Edin Terzic (to ZDF): “We made far too many mistakes and lost the ball in areas in which we must not lose it. That caused our displeasure and sense of uncertainty to grow. We only had a short spell around the 60th minute – shortly before and after the offside goal – in which we were aggressive and could develop pressure. That was not enough. We wanted to reach the final in Berlin; we didn’t manage that. We weren’t able to show anything like what we had envisaged. We have the next tough match ahead of us in three days.”

The RE57 will make an unscheduled stop at Signal Iduna Park train station.

Boris Rupert reporting from Stuttgart

Emre Can (to ZDF): “It’s simply not good enough from us as a team. We were lacking at the front and the back today. We were not strong enough in the challenges. It was a catastrophe on a footballing level, we have to be honest about that. Off the ball, the way we pressed, not good at all. It cannot continue like this. We’re Dortmund, there needs to be more. We need to sit down together and analyse it. It’s about the footballing aspect and finding solutions. And the pressing is very, very bad. If I compare that with Stuttgart: they press, they’re always there. We need to press more, want it more and have more intensity in our play. That must come from the team and from each individual. The season is still long, we will not give up, we will keep going.”