Internal issues at Borussia Dortmund revealed: “If only we had worked our asses off more for Nuri” | OneFootball

Bild have revealed several internal ‘issues’ that are currently going on behind the scenes at Borussia Dortmund in recent weeks.

After the Stuttgart game, there were several issues at hand. The first was between Gregor Kobel and Emre Can after the goalkeeper instead of playing a pass to Waldemar Anton kicked the ball out of play, which upset the captain as Dortmund were chasing a winner. The issues were resolved in the dressing room after the game.

The other issue in the fallout of the 2-1 loss at the weekend was Anton’s performance. The main issue here was Anton’s backpass that was intercepted by Deniz Undav and the only reason it did not result in a goal was due to Can tracking back and dispossessing the German international before he could get a shot off. Head coach Niko Kovac is said to have told Anton to be more confident in playing out from the back, however, internally there are doubts about whether Anton is a solution in Dortmund’s defence going forward.

Another issue is Pascal Groß lack of pace as despite the board being aware that the midfielder was not the quickest of players, it is said that Dortmund underestimated this speed. Groß’s top speed has been measured at 30 km/h which is one of the slowest in the Bundesliga.

Finally, the players are also struggling with Kovac’s hard-working and high-intensity training style. It has even gone as far as a self-deprecating joke being heard of: “If only we had worked our asses off more for Nuri”.

Dortmund’s next game is against Sporting in the Champions League. If things do not improve soon, the first leg in Lisbon could be a big stumbling block for Dortmund, as as of right now, the Champions League is the only thing Dortmund have left in their season.

GGFN | Jack Meenan