Presser before #KOEBVB | Favre: “Cologne press well and hard” | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund are looking to build a winning-streak against 1. FC Köln on Friday Night. Here is the summary of Thursday’s pre-match news conference with Lucien Favre and Michael Zorc.

Personnel Update

Apart from Mateu Morey, who is still recovering from a dislocated shoulder, everyone is fit. That means Roman Bürki will start his first match of the season and Raphael Guerreiro, who re-entered team training on Tuesday after a muscle injury, adds another option to the left wing.

Press hard, play hard

Both Favre and Zorc are certain that the match in Cologne will be a bigger test than the dramatically inferior FC Augsburg posed last Saturday.

“Of course it will be a tough game,” Favre said like he always says, adding: “We watched several of Colognes games. They are further ahead in their development at this point of the season than Augsburg are. They have laid a solid foundation, which the game against Wolfsburg also proved. The difference [between Augsburg and Köln] is that both played friendlies against Bologna. Augsburg lost 3-1, Cologne won 3-1. They have quality in their team, they press well and hard. It’s intense.”

“Köln are not only physical they also play very well. They play a lot of crosses and diagonal balls, but I don’t want to reveal too much.”

Zorc added: “We know that it won’t be as easy as in the second half against FC Augsburg. An away game is another thing entirely. And according to what’s coming out of the Cologne camp before the game, it sounds like they are going to approach the match more aggressively than Augsburg. Next to our footballing quality, we must have the right edge. That will be decisive.”

The air is getting thinner for Mario Götze

Thus far it has not been the dream start for Mario Götze, who has played 23 out of a possible 270 minutes. To add insult to injury, even the club’s official twitter account forgot to mention that he played his 200th Bundesliga match on Saturday, posting the impressive statistic as a mere content-filler on Wednesday. Small details like that can reflect a player’s status.

“He played 20 minutes at the end of the Augsburg match. But we have competition upfront. [Thorgan] Hazard can also play upfront, as can Paco [Alcácer]. Jacob Bruun Larsen can also play there,” Favre said about Götze’s chances to play as centre-forward again, adding: “Götze can play also as no. 10 in a 4-2-3-1 but so can Julian Brandt, so can Thorgan Hazard. We have many options currently.”

Zorc bluntly said: “We can only play with 11 players.” Ouch.

The Brandt-Dilemma

Dortmund’s starting XI against FC Augsburg ran like a well-oiled machine. At the same time, Julian Brandt has regained his match fitness by now and is a candidate for the first eleven on Friday. It will not be easy for the coach to find a spot because he will have to drop a player that does not deserve to be dropped with either Hazard or Julian Weigl. (Or Reus or Sancho but who are we kidding?)

And is a change of system necessary to include the 23-year-old? “He can play in a 4-3-3, he can play in as a false 9 or on the left wing in a 4-2-3-1. It depends on our system. Right now, we are playing 4-2-3-1 but we can play differently. It’s important that he is flexible and furthermore he is a very good player,” the 61-year-old replied.

Causa Guerreiro

Dortmund Boss Hans-Joachim Watzke was quoted last week that clarity in the cause Guerreiro “within the next 14 days would be appreciated”. Bild reported that BVB have offered a €5m annual salary and a three-year contract.

However, the Portuguese international is yet to be persuaded. “Talks are ongoing,” an unsmiling Zorc said. “I can’t give a tendency yet. I’m also not a prophet, so I can’t say whether there will be a decision before the end of the transfer window. After all, we’re not the only party that gets to decide.”

The sporting director would also not rule out more activity on the transfer market before September 2. “It may be that something happens but I can’t promise anything.”

New Rules!

There have been several rule changes in the Bundesliga this season. A novelty is that coaches can also receive a yellow card for their or the bench’s misconduct.

On Wednesday, the DFL specified their laws which now say that a coach will be suspended after four yellow cards. The law goes into effect on Matchday 2.

“I’ll better not say anything about that,” Favre said with a raised eyebrow, while Zorc interjected: “We will try to behave like role models. The coach does so anyway and I will try.”

The 56-year-old continued: “It depends on how [the referees] will implement [the rule]. It all depends on how quickly they will [draw a booking]. It’s obviously, things can get very emotional on the sidelines and can become very hectic. It shouldn’t warrant a booking right away when you vent because you’re angry with one decision or angry about your own poor performance.”