Borussia Dortmund midfielder Marcel Sabitzer on the last season: “We were often too sloppy last season. That wasn’t always the way you would expect from a Dortmund team.” | OneFootball

“He demands a lot, he has a clear idea, he knows what he wants, he knows what he wants to see and what he doesn’t want to see. He’s basically building on what he’s already brought in as assistant coach over the last six months, so not everything is completely new. But it’s a lot about details, playing to the right feet, turning to the right side and such subtleties. He has clear ideas about the style of play he wants to see, and I think that’s very good.”

“Exactly. It is important to him that a player does not have to shine every time he has the ball. We should keep it simple, focus on what the team needs at the moment, and not on what ideas we might have in our heads. It is a lot about decoy balls, a lot about through balls, getting behind the ball quickly in defense. It is about clean balls, the right passing speed, when you take two or three contacts, when you pass with one. There are a few details that he attaches great importance to – otherwise you get a clear message straight away.”

“We were often too sloppy last season. That wasn’t always the way you would expect from a Dortmund team. We were sloppy, we allowed far too many counter-attacks and therefore too many open games. That is definitely not good for us as a team, which is why Nuri also places a lot of emphasis on remaining defense and good positioning against the ball. That way the opponent might have one dangerous counter-attack in the game and not four, five or six.”

“I can still remember it well. I came into the dressing room after training with Austria and then Ralf Rangnick came to me and told me about it. But that’s how it is in football, nothing and no one is certain and he will have his reasons for choosing that path.”

View publisher imprint