Kobel confident for new season: "Ready from the off" | OneFootball

The start of the Bundesliga season is getting closer. Borussia Dortmund will be visiting Hamburg's Millerntor for the opener. The match against FC St. Pauli on early Saturday evening (August 23, 6:30 pm) is the top game of the first round.

Gregor Kobel knows what's coming for him and his teammates. "It's not an easy game away from home in this stadium," says the 27-year-old goalkeeper of BVB in a club-owned interview. "We have to be prepared for a certain fight coming our way." But he sees the black and yellows well-equipped for the appearance in the Hanseatic city: "I think, however, that it's something that characterizes us by now. We just have to hold our own with toughness and make sure that we decide the game with the quality we have."

Last season, the Westphalians managed a 2-0 victory on St. Pauli. Serhou Guirassy (29) and Karim Adeyemi (23) secured the win for the guests after the break. Especially in the first half, the Kiezkicker had caused the Dortmund team some problems. Kobel delivered a solid performance and started the journey home with a "white vest" popular among goalkeepers.

Praise for Mane

Due to the injuries of Nico Schlotterbeck (25) and Niklas Süle (29), Filippo Mane (20) is likely to make his Bundesliga debut. In the DFB Cup match against Rot-Weiss Essen (1:0), the youngster delivered a convincing performance. Kobel confirms this: "I think he has great talent and reads the game very well." The Swiss trusts the center-back a lot: "He has the physical talent to become a top player."

In the 2024/25 season, BVB was stuck in the middle of the table for a long time, temporarily slipping to 11th place. But with an impressive final spurt, in which the Borussia collected 22 out of 24 points, the Pott club climbed back to fourth place. "It's about us managing to get back to that mentality, that focus, and bringing that performance onto the pitch over the entire season," Kobel sets his sights on continuing the success story under head coach Niko Kovač (53). "Really being there from the very first moment and delivering the performance over the entire season," is therefore the demand of the Swiss number one.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.