In Bundesliga Matchday 9, Borussia Dortmund will host promoted side SV Elversberg. Ahead of the match, head coach Niko Kovac spoke at a press conference about Guirassy's injury, Jobe Bellingham's development, and his expectations for the game. This article covers the first part of the press conference.
Second part of the press conference
Hello Niko. How has the team recovered since the last match? What is the situation with Guirassy? Is he available to play, or will he be out for longer? And what is the physical condition of the other players?
Today is the second day after the match, and the training load is relatively light. The players are all in good condition, and I would say there are no issues. Guirassy has a muscle strain, so he won't be able to play tomorrow. We will see how to handle it in the coming days. We are also in contact with the Guinean Football Federation, and the communication is going very smoothly.
It's highly likely he won't join the national team but will stay here, though we still need to discuss it with the federation. We hope he will be fit to play again after the international break. We will see when he can return, but he definitely won't play tomorrow. Sabitzer returned to training today after being ill, so he will also be an option for us tomorrow.
Jobe Bellingham will obviously join the England squad; he was called up today. Can you talk about his progress? A lot has changed for him since the summer. Physically, it looks like he has been eating very well, and he has clearly improved on the pitch.
I am happy for every player who gets called up to a national team, whether it's the youth team or the senior side. It's something special, especially playing for the senior national team, and he fully deserves this opportunity.
He has made great progress. He has put in a lot of work and is very diligent. Looking at his performances over the course of this year, you have to admit that these things take time. Many people are impatient, but he has been patient, and you have given him time, which is equally important.
Now everyone can see that he is really excellent. I am very pleased with him and happy that he can now wear the England shirt alongside his brother. That is special too: not only playing for England, but doing so together with your own brother. That's fantastic. He should continue like this, and I believe he will, because his attitude is really very good and he loves this profession. So he will become a very, very good player in the future.
We just talked about a player who will join his national team; now I'd like to talk about one who won't, which is Beier. You have publicly backed him many times, hoping he would be selected, and you have always stayed in contact with Nagelsmann. Are you disappointed that he wasn't selected? And how did Nagelsmann explain this decision to you?
No. First of all, it's Nagelsmann's decision. He is the national team coach, and he knows very well what he needs and how he sees things. Of course, this is very disappointing for Beier, that's for sure. I also hoped he would be selected, but ultimately Nagelsmann made this decision, and that's fine, because he is the one who has to take responsibility.
Beier is still very, very important to us, and not just because he scored two decisive goals against Stuttgart and Eintracht Frankfurt. Beier is truly a part of this club and this team, and we will help him get back on his feet. He will keep delivering his performances, just as he has done since we arrived here.
There will always be disappointments in life, and as a person and as a professional player, you have to learn to accept them. He will do that, and he will learn from it and come back stronger. I believe he will definitely get his chance.
I want to go back to Jobe Bellingham. At the club, whenever you ask those responsible for sporting matters about him, they first mention his incredible discipline and professionalism. Can you describe that in more detail? For example, what specifically does he do more than other players?
Jobe definitely grew up in that kind of environment. It's not something you can learn overnight; he has had these qualities since he was young. Of course, he also put in a lot of work with his brother and father, and now we can see the results. You could say he is one of the first to arrive at the training ground and certainly one of the last to leave. He is very meticulous about looking after his body and does everything necessary to stay in top physical condition.
He also studies a lot. He analyzes his own games and other players' games in order to learn from them. It's important to learn from the best players in his position. He is truly a huge football fan and does a lot in this regard, which is great. He is focused on his profession and isn't distracted by other things.
Hello Niko, and hello to you both. After the match against Betis, you said that, if possible, you would like the team to score one or two more goals. I checked, and half of your matches have been won by a single goal. That means games often stay in the balance for a long time and often take a lot out of the team physically. I remember last season you said the team actually needed to finish games off earlier. Do you think this needs to be a priority in your work? If so, how can you truly get the team to do it? After all, you can't just stand on the touchline and order the players to do it.
Yes, you're absolutely right, Cédric. The situation is this: at the moment, we are able to win those close matches, and that's important. You have to win these evenly matched games; the less tight ones you would win anyway. So it's good that we are winning difficult games now.
But I do expect us to take the next step in this regard, to try to steer the game in our favor in the first half so that the second half is easier. What often happens now is that the score is very tight, perhaps 0-0, or 0-1 as in Munich. When you go into the second half, you always know it will be a tough game.
Especially at home, we must try to change this. We are working on it and will talk to the players and show them the relevant situations, because we have indeed played such games in the past. If we want to be a truly excellent team, we must do this. We are already a strong team, but if we want to take another step, we must try to decide games earlier, or at least get them going in the right direction, instead of, as you said, being on tenterhooks until the 92nd or 93rd minute.
Niko, hello, I'd like to ask about the opponent. As a promoted team, SV Elversberg are currently seventh, which is somewhat surprising. How do you assess this opponent? What kind of game do you expect?
I certainly rate this opponent very highly. They are seventh, held their own against Bayern, and beat Bayer Leverkusen and Augsburg. Of course, they definitely have more problems away from home than at home. But we have just come through eight tough matches with very little time to recover. Still, the team is ready and in good physical condition.
The opponent has certainly had more rest than us, so we will definitely not underestimate them. On the contrary, we will take them very seriously. We know what we are capable of, and we know what the opponent is capable of. But we are playing at home, and we hope to bring this nine-game stretch to a successful close. Our results in the last five games have been very good, with four wins and one draw. We want to go into the international break on the back of a very good result.
Although it might make today's topic seem a bit one-sided, I still want to ask about Jobe again. You just said that he learns from the best players in his position. However, just as people used to discuss his brother's situation at length, they have also been wondering: what position is he actually best suited to? You have also played him in different positions. Is his current position, with two players behind him, the most ideal one he has found? What do you think?
Jobe can play as a No. 6 or a No. 8. He is what you would call a box-to-box midfielder. He covers a lot of ground. If you can run that much, you can defend well at the back and constantly push forward into the attacking zone.
He has already scored some goals, and he had another great chance against Betis, and also in Munich. You can see his confidence growing. He also sees that his abilities are improving, whether technically, tactically, or physically. Without enough physical ability, you can never run from one penalty area to the other like he does while also getting back to defend in time.
Jobe is on a very good path right now. I can't tell you which specific player he is studying. I know he observes several players, but you might have to ask him who they are.
I really like seeing a young man so dedicated to his profession. We also shouldn't forget that he is only 21, not 31. At this age, he is already doing exceptionally well. Some players older than him have not even reached his current level.