BVB 2012-2013 General Discussion Thread [R]

Translation of the Meppen match report from the Official BVB website.

It is not a totally exact translation. I did the best I could with the time I had.


Read on!

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2-1 In Meppen – BVB Starts With A Victory


Julian Schieber had two good chances in the first half


Sixty-one days after winning the German Cup in Berlin, Borussia Dortmund played its first training match in preparation for the 2012/2013 Bundesliga season. Before 10,558 spectators anxious to see football again, the German Double Winners beat Regionalliga (4th Division) club SV Meppen by a 2-1 score. Mustafa Amini and Jonas Hofmann scored the goals for BVB.

Boris Rupert reports from Meppen

The first appearance of the German Champions and Cup Winners not only attracted an impressive crowd, but three television broadcasters as well. Sport1 broadcasted the match live while ZDF and WDR sent camera teams. After exactly 100 seconds, they saw the first goal chance. Schieber took the ball on his right foot from a half-right field position and then put a left-footed shot on goal. Meppen goalkeeper Gommert had to stretch out in his penalty area, which had been used for a pop-concert before the match.


There was no change in BVB’s tactical formation, but plenty of new faces. Kirch, Günter, Amini, Bittencourt and Schieber all made their BVB “A” team debuts. With the nine European Championship Tournament participants still on vacation, coach Klopp had to do some improvising. One move was Amini forming the “double six” with Sebastian Kehl in the second half. Another was Moritz Leitner playing the “number 10” role in the first half.


Moritz Leitner Played The #10 Position In The First Half

Jürgen Klopp’s team pushed hard, but the right play in Meppen’s penalty area missing in some situations and in other’s Gommert’s post saved him as it did on Schieber’s 39th minute head from a Hofmann cross. On the other hand, Meppen’s Gerdes-Wurpts missed a shot from a tight angle in the 26th minute for the Emsland club’s only clear chance in the first 45 minutes.

However, Meppen made good use of its second chance. Seven minutes after the start of the second half, Wigger hit a shot from about 18 meters out and the ball went straight into the left corner of the BVB goal. Substitute goalkeeper Alomerovic could not get to the shot. Directly after that, BVB striker Eric Durm had the tying goal on his foot, but Meppen’s backup goalkeeper Hillebrand pushed it over the crossbar with a sparkling save. However, BVB would only be behind for ten minutes. In the 63rd minute, Hofmann found Amini with a pass and Amini coolly finished, putting the ball in the left corner of the Meppen goal.

BVB only had three double winners on the field in the second half. Even though the team had completed a hard morning training session, they wanted to turn the tide in the match. They attacked and attacked only to have two Eric Durm goals disallowed for offside.


Victory was secured with a beautiful play in the 77th minute. Grosskreutz played a perfect pass into the penalty area. Hofmann rounded the goalkeeper and put the ball into the net. However, Meppen did not give up without a fight. They came out of their compact formation and Alomerovic saved the victory with a sparkling save against Meppen’s Scherping in the 81st minute. Even though some BVB players were tired, the fans, with about 6,000 in Schwarz-Gelb among them, had their fun.



BVB 1st Half Lineup: Weidenfeller - Kirch - Günter, Santana, Günter, Löwe - Bender, Amini - Hofmann, Leitner, Bittencourt – Schieber


BVB 2nd Half Lineup: Alomerovic - Günter, Subotic, Meißner, Halstenberg - Amini, Kehl - Hofmann, Benatelli, Grosskreutz – Durm


Goals: 1:0 Wigger (53rd), 1:1 Amini (63rd), 1:2 Hofmann (77th)



Spectators: 10,558

 

Dortmund: Young Prodigy Wants To Have Fun Again

Götze: Waiting For The Number 10






Mario Götze had to sit six months thanks to a nagging pubic bone inflammation injury. This cost him more than a few minutes of playing time, (almost) the entire second half of the season and the Cup Final triumph in Berlin. In ten days, the 20-year old’s vacation will be over and Dortmund’s “super talent” will start his season preparation at BVB’s second training camp in Bad Ragaz, Switzerland. There, he will try to find his smile again.


(As stated) Götze will be with the team when the Bad Ragaz training camp begins on July 22nd and not sooner according to Borussia Dortmund’s Sport Director Michael Zorc. “Mario has put an intense training period with us and the national team behind him. Physically, it makes sense for us to give him another break.” Then, the German Double Winners will again fully integrate the active offensive player back into the team.


Zorc sees Götze as “halfway a new acquisition.” Coach Jürgen Klopp wants to give Götze “a completely normal preparation” in the five weeks before the start of the new season. Klopp says, “He (Götze) will not play 90 minutes in every test match.” This will be the case even though Götze is lacking match practice. The long injury break has to be a setback for the midfielder, who has already experienced so many “highs” in his young career. Götze is now dealing with his first “low.”


Klopp admits this is a “classically difficult situation” for an instinctive player like Götze. “When you aren’t able to play for months, what you do best doesn’t feel good anymore.” Klopp also says Götze has to learn to deal with difficult circumstances for the first time. BVB captain Sebastian Kehl said in a “kicker” interview: “Unless my perception is off, Mario has lost more than a bit of his smile in recent days and weeks.”



Mario Götze is going to find the smile again. “The kid has fun playing football”, says Zorc. “(When he does that) then he is the best. We will provide the environment necessary for this to happen.” That Götze will start the season in a new jersey has already been decided. Götze will now play with the symbolic and inspiring number 10 on his back. Götze has handed over number 11 to his new midfield partner Marco Reus.

 

Taken from Bundesliga.de:

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New Game Plan For Dortmund With Reus On Board??





Marco Reus was one of the biggest winners for Germany at the finals of Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine. Above all, his performance in the 4-2 quarter-final victory over Greece provided a wider international audience with an insight into why Bundesliga champions and DFB Cup winners Borussia Dortmund coughed up the necessary funds to prise the 23-year-old attacking talent away from their namesakes in Mönchengladbach.




At Dortmund, Reus will be stepping into the boots of Shinji Kagawa, who has realised his long-held dream of playing in the English Premier League with his move to Manchester United. The new man is unlikely to replace his dynamic Japanese predecessor one-for-one, though. "We'll be changing our style a bit," BVB coach Jürgen Klopp explained: "But I view this as an opportunity to gradually introduce more variety into our game."




With Mario Götze, Kevin Großkreutz, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Ivan Perisic all available alongside Reus, Dortmund have no lack of top-drawer options in the attacking midfield department. And, as Klopp has already made clear, "Marco Reus doesn't need to be given a special role. He doesn't want one, and I'm not handing any out either."



The new signing's credentials as a team player are beyond reproach. For one thing, he won the Players' Player of the Year Award for 2011/12, picking up 30 percent of the votes cast by members of the professional footballers union, the VDV. For another, the bald statistics reveal that in addition to his 18 goals for Mönchengladbach last season, he laid on eight more for teammates. And, as an aside, the Foals won none of the five league games he missed during his time with them.



Reus returns to his home city, where his parents and girlfriend still live, and where he started out with local side Post SV Dortmund, on a contract valid through to 2017. When his summer move was officially revealed at the start of the year, he explained that, "I've decided to take the next step in the coming season and I want to play for a team who are in contention for the title, and who can guarantee me Champions League football. I think Dortmund offers that opportunity."



For his part, Reus can now offer Dortmund the added experience of his first, successful taste of major international tournament action.

 

I may not be up by then, but if I am, I'll be there! Thanks!

 

BVB Goalkeeper Weidenfeller: “Everyone Will Be After Us”







RN: BVB has been back in training for eleven days. How are you doing? We have given the impression that the training sessions have been particularly hard?

Roman Weidenfeller: “(I am) Very good. It (training) is exhausting, but training always is. What is important is it is fun. We had seven long weeks off and the desire for football is back with me and my teammates.


RN: Everyone expects BVB, as German Champions, to be chased even stronger in the coming season. Do you also expect this?

RW: The Champions are always the team everyone else is after. We have raised the bar very, very high with our title defense and doing the Double in May. Everyone will be after us. We know this. And we will be prepared.




RN: Is the bar being set so high also dangerous?

RW: We know that we had to turn it on from the start of preparation (for the new season). We and everyone else are starting from scratch. The expectations are high. What we have achieved is difficult to top. However, we will lay the foundation to be in contention for the Bundesliga title. Also, ideally, to be more successful in the Champions’ League (CL).




RN: Exiting the Champions’ League after the group stage last season was a huge disappointment for you. How big is the hope that BVB does better in the CL in the coming season?

RW: We will be in pot 4 (for the group stage draw) once again. We will have to wait for the draw (to see what our chances will be). The CL is a highlight for every player. (There are) Great matches which will remain with me forever. It would be great to survive the group stage.




RN: Much is written about Borussia Dortmund’s brilliant campaign and exhilarating attacking football. Does it annoy you that BVB’s reliable and outstanding defense is almost ignored?

RW: No. Absolutely not. Every insider knows how important the role is each player and each part of the team plays in our success.




RN: Other goalkeepers who have less stable defenses in front of them are ranked higher than you in assessments of the best goalkeepers such as the kicker ratings. It this because they utilize the wrong criteria?

RW: I am very lucky to stand in goal behind a great defense at BVB. Many goalkeepers would love to switch places with me.




RN: Do these ratings lists bother you?

RW: No, I’m too old for that stuff. I just wonder how a double-winning goalkeeper can be ranked fifth.



RN: In the two championship seasons, you have shown the ability to limit big mistakes. How much of this has come from your development under Jürgen Klopp?

RW: Klopp has made me feel trusted from day one. This gives me a good feeling. With experience, you naturally mellow. This experience helps players use their talent more consistently. I made mistakes as a younger keeper. This comes with the territory.



RN: You once said it would be fun to imagine yourself still playing at 40. How concrete would this desire be after your next contract extension?

RW: It is too early. I just extended at BVB last season and I have another two years on my contract. I feel really good. For this reason, I would love to be a part of this great team as long as I can.



RN: You aren’t afraid that you will have nothing in common with the younger generation in the locker room?

RW: (laughing) We get along very well. The guys and I have lots of fun. Even as the older players perhaps have other off-field interests. This is quite normal. The team mixture is perfect.

 

Subotic: Dortmund Is Not Afraid Of Bayern Munich

The Serbian centre-back believes the new campaign will provide the stiffest test of his side's credentials to date, but is backing Die Borussen to rise to the challenge








Borussia Dortmund defender Neven Subotic has conceded that the 2012-13 season will be his club's "most difficult" as they look to retain their Bundesliga title for a second time, but assured that they are not afraid of a Bayern Munich backlash.



Subotic, 23, believes this in itself shows the increasing expectations at the Signal Iduna Park and insists that Dortmund do not fear Jupp Heynckes' big-spenders.



"We are not afraid of Bayern, but we respect them," he told Bild.



Click here for the full story.

 

Not since Bayern whipped us 5-1 in Dortmund back in 2009. Bayern won the following match too, but we weren't afraid then. Just not good enough.

 

Lewandowski's 4th minute match-winner against Legia today:

 

kicker reports that Michael Zorc has made a contract extension offer to Marcel Schmelzer. You can read the original article in German at this link.

Read on for the story in English!

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Dortmund: Zorc Confirms


Schmelzer The Next Dortmund Star Offered Contract Extension


Schmelzer Against Legia Warsaw This Past Saturday



Kuba (26), Mario Götze (20) and Mats Hummels (23) have all recently signed long-term extensions with Borussia Dortmund. BVB Director of Sport (General Manager) Michael Zorc is working on gradually getting all important personnel from last season’s double winners extended with Dortmund. Next candidate is 24-year old Marcel Schmelzer.


Zorc confirmed he would be offering the left back a contract extension, stating; “We will try to come to a long-term agreement.” Schmelzer’s current contract expires in June 2014. Zorc believe Schmelzer has done “a very good job” in his role on the BVB team. Zorc believe Schmelzer offers a “superb talent package”, “is very strong tactically”, “shines in defense” and “possesses a left foot which is increasingly becoming a weapon.” This past season, Schmelzer assisted on four goals and scored one of his own.


Schmelzer has been with Dortmund since joining from 1. FC Magdeburg in 2005. In 102 Bundesliga appearances, Schmelzer has shown what he can do. Schmelzer’s professional debut was on the first match day of the 2008-2009 season. In the 72nd minute of his first match as coach of BVB, Jürgen Klopp sent the youngster into the match for BVB legend Dede. The following season, Schmelzer supplanted the Brazilian on the left side of the BVB defense.


Since then, the double winner has been a rising star. Schmelzer’s resume is only missing a breakthrough with the German National Team. Schmelzer has just six international caps and with Philipp Lahm blocking the left side on the national team, Schmelzer is pretty unlucky in this department. Schmelzer did not see action at this past European Championship tournament.


Schmelzer has been working toward the new season for well over a week now. Unlike last summer, when he suffered with muscle injuries, Schmelzer has been free of injury symptoms this summer. Schmelzer says, “On the first day of training at Bad Ragaz, I completed more training sessions than I did in all of last year’s pre-season. This is extremely important for me to be on my game August 24th.”


Borussia Dortmund opens the 2012/2013 Bundesliga season against Werder Bremen on August 24th.

 

This is an overview of an interview Mats Hummels gave to kicker magazine I hear is generating quite a bit of whining at other forums here at BigSoccer.

The actual interview is in today’s print version of kicker. I do not have access to that version anymore, so I’ve translated the overview provided on kicker.de.

You can read the original overview in German at this link.
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Overview Of kicker Interview With Mats Hummels

“We Probably Would Have Lost Even Without My Error”





Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels was showered with praise for his performance at this summer’s European Championship tournament in Poland and Ukraine. However, the Dortmund defender’s mistake leading to Italy’s opening goal in the semi-final made Hummels a scapegoat for many. The 23-year old gives his view of that play and his role on the national team. Hummels also declared he would be satisfied with third place in the Bundesliga in the coming season.


For Hummels, it was one of the few bad scenes in an overall strong tournament. However, that moment was decisive in the tournament. The Dortmund defender allowed Italian Antonio Cassano to put in a cross, which Mario Balotelli headed home to give Italy a 1-0 lead. The final result was 2-1 for the Azzurri. What did Hummels say about the duel? “I wanted to beat him too quickly as I misread the situation. Getting out of step will not do this. However, the days of worrying about such a mistake for weeks are long gone.”


***My comments: I take his saying “as I misread the situation” to mean, “As I didn’t know three of my teammates were caught out of position.” Hummels is too classy to throw his teammates under the bus. I’m not. I believe he thought Lahm or Badstuber had Balotelli covered. Bad mistake? Yes. However, Hummels was far from the only one who wasn’t where he was supposed to be or didn’t do what he was supposed to do on that play. I "love" what gets lost in all this is that the men who should have been covering Cassano before he got so deep (Boateng and/or Khedira) were both caught badly out of position. That play was a total mess all the way around. I believe Philipp Lahm himself had the courage to say this after the match. Those who choose to blame Hummels are just lazy and looking for an “easy scapegoat” in my opinion.


Hummels also said, “It must be said that we were clearly the inferior team in this match. We probably would have lost without my error.” Generally, Hummels is challenging the Germany team to increase their performance level in the run-up to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Otherwise, he sees very little title hope for the Germany team. Hummels believes they don’t have a chance at the World Cup with a performance like the one they gave at the European Championship. Hummels says, “I don’t believe we have a realistic chance to beat the top nations in the crucial matches needed to become world champions. We have to give much more.”


Between the European Championship tournament of the recent past and the distant future of the 2014 World Cup is a good chunk of Bundesliga action. After having won the last two Bundesliga titles, Borussia Dortmund is going into the start of the coming season in August with some high expectations. A “three-peat” for BVB? For Mats Hummels this is not a “must.” Hummels says, “I would certainly not be disappointed with second or third place in a really strong league. I would not be content if we were to finish seventh, eighth or ninth.”

 

Kuba says in this article he never had any intention of leaving Dortmund.


He says:

"When I came to Dortmund, the club was not like it is now. I want to continue to participate in this development."

"What clubs in the world are better than Borussia Dortmund? There are not many. And the fans are outstanding: several thousand supporters in St Gallen for a friendly game - that says it all."

 

BVB traveled to Hamburg for this weekend’s pre-season “Liga Total Cup” tournament without Mario Götze, Felipe Santana and Marcel Schmelzer.



Götze is suffering with an eye issue. Hence the “pirate look” in the photo. Schmelzer and Santana both have ankle issues.

The article says Santana should be back in training around the middle of next week. I’m guessing since there is no timetable mentioned in the article for Götze and Schmelzer, they will only miss the “Liga Total Cup.”