The first part of the preparations for the 2023/24 season is over. The team and coaches will fly to the United States on Monday, where they will lay the physical and tactical groundwork for what will hopefully be a successful season up until 3 August. That groundwork will be put to the test in three absolutely top-level friendlies.

With two weeks of preparation – or almost one week for the internationals – under their belts, the match in Erfurt on Saturday did not serve as a yardstick. “We tried out several things, and it can only get better,” said Emre Can following the rather fortuitous 3-2 victory against a committed, defensive and consistently fair Regionalliga team. Coach Edin Terzic made 12 changes during the 90 minutes, which were tough-going for the most part. The team too rarely showed tempo and the resultant penetration in their play. “Our legs were heavy,” explained Can, without wanting to use that as an excuse.

That said: As was the case in the last minute (3-2) victory in Oberhausen last Wednesday, the team did not want to let the game finish in the 1-0 scoreline that had lit up on the scoreboard until the closing stages. Thorgan Hazard restored parity at 1-1 in the 81st minute and then teed up Marius Wolf to make it 2-1 five minutes later. “It was the first match for many of us. You could see they were lacking rhythm. We would’ve liked to perform more confidently,” said Edin Terzic, who nonetheless labelled it as an “important test, because this is the category of opposition that awaits us in the first round of the DFB-Pokal.”

He – along with a large travelling party – will depart for the USA on Monday. The first stop is San Diego. “We want to work on team tactics and will use the time intensively and conscientiously,” announced the head coach, adding: “It is a good thing that we will have this time where we are together around the clock, from morning until night. We have three important friendlies.” San Diego Loyal, Manchester United and Chelsea will be the opponents.

To ensure no time is lost, the players will receive a “jetlag plan that starts from tonight so that we are immediately present when we’re on the training pitch,” said Terzic in Erfurt on Saturday: “They will go to bed slightly later today and get up slightly earlier. And then we’ll step that up even more in the night from Sunday to Monday.”
Boris Rupert

Match report: Late BVB victory in Erfurt