The mortgage from the first leg weighs heavily on the shoulders of BVB’s professionals. But Dortmund are willing to make up for the 4-2 defeat against Glasgow Rangers in the second leg and move into the next round. “We have big plans,” promises captain Marco Reus – and is not afraid of the unfamiliar setting.
When Borussia Dortmund’s travelling party set off for Glasgow on Wednesday morning, it was accompanied by spring-like sunshine. Upon arrival in the port city, however, BVB was quickly back to harsh reality: strong winds on approach, cold temperatures and a nasty mix of rain and snow reminded the Borussians that the collective trip to Scotland was a works trip – with an important Europa League work assignment.
The team’s journey to Scotland was a journey of a lifetime.
Coach Marco Rose’s side must settle the 4-2 mortgage from the first leg at Rangers and score at least two goals to at least progress to extra time. It is a matter of important income for the club, but above all also for their own prestige.
“We don’t need to motivate ourselves,” said captain Marco Reus when he spoke to the virtually connected journalists in the catacombs of the Ibrox Stadium this evening. “We know what is at stake. We know what is at stake. It’s a do-or-die game.” Advance or elimination are the alternatives. “And we have big plans,” promised Reus, “we will give everything to make it our day on Thursday.”
In addition to Manuel Akanji, Dan-Axel Zagadou and Giovanni Reyna, BVB will also have to do without Erling Haaland, who completed parts of team training at the beginning of the week, but according to Rose is “still some way away” from a comeback. In the meantime, his team has had to do without the Norwegian for almost half of the games, the BVB coach said on Wednesday – and in a way learned to deal with it as a result.
“We still scored a lot of goals in the Bundesliga.” Most recently six in a 6-0 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach on Sunday, four days after the bitter first leg defeat to Glasgow at the same venue. The Black and Yellows’ joy afterwards was subdued. “It was a step forward,” Reus provided the explanation, “but we have to go one better now and show a reaction to the reaction. “
Hot crowd awaits BVB
And in front of a backdrop that many Borussians haven’t experienced in a long time: 50,000 spectators are expected, 2600 of them from Dortmund. A problem? “We can expect a hot atmosphere. But that is something very nice and can be very motivating. That won’t be a problem for us,” Reus denied the question.
But the feat from Dortmund’s point of view will be to overcome the difficult, but by no means insurmountable task of overcoming a two-goal deficit against opponents who are only second-class internationally, without getting carried away – driven by the backdrop. It was not for nothing that Rose emphasised the word “balance” several times in his remarks at the press conference. This was precisely what BVB had often lacked in the past. Even in front of significantly fewer spectators than this time in Glasgow.
