On Easter Monday (11:00 CET), Borussia’s U19s will take on Hertha BSC in the first leg of the German Championship semi-final at the Stadion auf dem Wurfplatz in Berlin. The Dortmund youngsters will be keen to get a result that still leaves them with every opportunity heading into the second leg. “The outcome of this duel will not be decided until next Saturday in Dortmund,” assured Mike Tullberg.

The U19 head coach has already taken a lot of pressure off his players in the build-up. “I’ve congratulated them on a very good season. The Final Round of the German Championship is now the encore. The form on the day will decide the outcome of the semi-finals,” Tullberg emphasised and explained: “Our major goal was the West German championship; that’s the reward for and the result of our work throughout an entire season. The fact we were also the only German team to qualify for the quarter-finals of the UEFA Youth League and only just failed to go through cannot be overstated.”

The BVB delegation will travel to Berlin on Saturday in order to dedicate all of Sunday to mental and detailed tactical preparations. “We will come up with a good plan,” assured the Dane, who is preparing his team for two big sporting challenges and praised the opponent in the highest terms: “Hertha BSC are a top team with great individual quality.”

The Berlin outfit suffered only one defeat in the Bundesliga’s north/north-east pool and secured the championship with 41 points, ahead of Dynamo Dresden (38). They also qualified for the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal, which they lost away to 1. FC Cologne last Sunday following a 1-1 draw in normal time and a curious 9-8 penalty shootout defeat. The Dortmund lads have watched and analysed this match along with the coaching staff. “We need to work well together defensively, keep the space compact and be solid in defence,” demanded Tullberg, who is particularly wary of the opposition’s attack. “They score goals like there’s no tomorrow.”

Defence to have its work cut out

Teoman Gündüz, who has already featured several times for the U23s, occupies second spot in the Nord/Nordost-Bundesliga scoring charts with 13 goals, while Leander Popp has found the net eight times, Pepe Pereira Mendes has notched seven goals and both Ibrahim Maza, who has made his Bundesliga debut this season, and Bence Dardai have six goals. “They have many good attackers, which makes them so unpredictable, ” declared Tullberg.

BVB and Hertha BSC have previously met on two occasions in the Final Round of the German Championship. The Black & Yellows ran out 2-1 winners in last year’s final in Berlin. The current squad members who played that day include Farouk Cisse, Nnamdi Collins, Vasco Walz and Samuel Bamba, who came on as a substitute. Top goalscorer Julian Rijkhoff was on the bench; he is now of course a starter.

The Black & Yellows went out in the semi-final in 2018. Having lost the first leg 4-0, only a storm could prevent Borussia’s comeback in the return leg in Dortmund. They were 3-0 ahead in the second half when thunder and lightning forced the referee to take the players off on two occasions, disrupting BVB’s rhythm. Shortly before the end, Hertha scored a goal on the counter-attack to secure qualification for the final.

A different outcome is desired this time. “We’ll go into this match full of confidence and with great joy,” assured Mike Tullberg, who has named seven U17 players in his squad. They are all expected to help BVB secure the best-possible result ahead of the return leg, which will take place at the Youth Performance Centre in Brackel on Saturday 15 April (11:00 CET). (wiwi)