Borussia Dortmund's sporting director Lars Ricken spoke in an interview about the team's preparations and transfers, and looked ahead to the new season.
Lars Ricken on his initial impressions of pre-season preparations:
"All players and staff are full of anticipation. It's finally starting, and I'm also looking forward to this preparation period. We will play against Arsenal, AS Roma, and Bayern Munich – if you count the Supercup – a total of three Champions League teams during our preparation. Everything officially begins today. We want to create the conditions for the new season to be as successful as possible."
Borussia Dortmund's sporting goals:
"Two seasons ago, we were still chasing a Champions League spot. Last season, our focus was on stabilizing everything and making the team's performance more consistent. We want the whole team to be fitter and also to solve injury problems. Niko Kovač and his team did an excellent job with that. Of course, we now want to take another step forward. Defensively, we need to be resilient, which we've done well in the past decade. Offensively, we want to be challengers who dare to attack. Our demand has always been to continuously improve and excite the fans."
Current transfer movements
"I can understand that some people might be a bit impatient. But as management, we also have to remain patient. We have already signed three players. Gadou strengthens the center-back position, and two young players, Kawa-Platjes and Justin-Lerma, have also joined the team. Players like Luca Rejani and Samuele Inacio are also new additions for us. We didn't expect them to be so well prepared and to provide such a significant competitive boost."
Next transfer strategy
"New signings prioritize quality over age. We want to sign players who can make the team stronger. I believe we can achieve this before the end of the transfer window and have a stronger and better squad than last year."
Current squad
"We still have Chukwuemeka, Fabio Silva, and Jobe Bellingham, players we signed last year, and they now need to take the next step. That's what we expect from them. We have kept the core of the team. We still want to make one or two, two or three good signings, but we want the right signings, not transfers that only bring short-term applause. We will take our time and ultimately sign players who can truly help the team on the field."
Squad balance:
"Experienced, quality players who bring leadership are very important for young players. We also have such individuals in our squad, for example, Schlotterbeck, Anton, Nmecha, Ryerson, Sabitzer. These are mature players who are crucial for the youngsters. Around them, young players can continue to grow and don't have to bear all the responsibility immediately. So, I think our squad composition is quite good."
Schlotterbeck's recovery status:
"That will take a few more weeks, to be honest. He was one of the first players to return here. This shows he is very motivated and wants to come back strong as soon as possible. We still need to monitor his recovery process."
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