With his first Bundesliga goal, Steffen Tigges decided Borussia Dortmund’s match against 1. FC Köln. Not only a huge experience for the young striker, but also a letter of application.
When Marco Rose’s phone rang in the summer and Steffen Baumgart answered, the Dortmund coach had to disappoint his Cologne colleague and buddy from the DFB football coaching course they took together: Steffen Tigges, whom Baumgart had called about, preferred to keep Rose in Dortmund after all.
A rather common occurrence in the transfer window, but one that gained new momentum on Saturday. Tigges, of all people, scored for BVB to make it 2:0 against his almost-employer and thus decided the game for his employer. And when Rose spoke about the development of his attacker in the following press conference, he also referred to his sidekick Baumgart: “You can ask Baumi how he sees him.” Baumgart, in turn, only grumbled briefly from the left: “You didn’t give him to me.
“In the right place at the moment “
So it was up to the Dortmund coach after all to praise the goalscorer, as so often happens with Rose with nicknames. “We are convinced that Tiggi is still in the right place here at the moment, he proved that today. His development is not yet at the end.” The 23-year-old is “a physically strong striker” and thus as a type of player “still most likely” to be a replacement for top goalscorer Erling Haaland.
Before substituting the U-23 striker, Rose had tried Thorgan Hazard and Marco Reus, i.e. “strikers with a strong game”. That worked, Hazard scored as he had against Ingolstadt. With Tigges, however, a physicality came into play, with 193 centimetres of height and 90 kilograms he had more to hold against the Cologne defenders on long balls and thus provided relief. The successful performance was also an application. “He is a good boy and is developing well overall,” Rose thinks: “He has fulfilled his dream of playing in the Bundesliga and has now scored his first goal. I hope that this will really push him forward and that we can develop him further in Dortmund. “
The player himself could hardly get the smile off his face after the game. “This is a huge feeling,” he also verbally gave insight into his inner life. The fact that the goal was scored after a corner (“I just stuck my head in. The fact that it went in so perfectly at the back is my luck”) was a bonus: “It’s a huge privilege to play here and then to score my first goal in front of the South Stand, two years ago I wouldn’t have imagined that. So it’s all the nicer that it’s come about now. “
Short goal against Ingolstadt “a bit annoying “
On Tuesday in the cup match against FC Ingolstadt, Tigges was even given a trial from the start, but was not convincing and only hit the crossbar with his best chance: “That was a bit annoying, so I’m even more pleased that it worked out now. I’ve been looking forward to it for a while.”
However, the U-23 player with a professional contract will not have time to enjoy the goal for long, as he will most likely be in the squad against Ajax Amsterdam on Wednesday. On Saturday, all that remained for him was to celebrate “on the sofa”, as he predicted. At least he had enough time to read all the congratulatory messages he received. After the game, Tigges had already feared: “I think my mobile phone is about to vibrate off the table.
