Tullberg calls for "no excuses" at Dortmund | OneFootball

Mike Tullberg to take charge of Borussia Dortmund against Werder Bremen

When Dortmund announced their decision to part ways with Şahin, there was no immediate confirmation as to who would oversee the team. Fans began to speculate wildly about who will succeed the former BVB player in the dugout at the Signal Iduna Park. Big names are being bandied about, but not every football fan is familiar with the interim solution that the club has opted to go with.

For this Saturday's home game against Bremen, Borussia have opted for an in-house approach in the form of U19s boss Tullberg.

Speaking at his first media event since the announcement at Friday's pre-match press conference, the 39-year-old former striker showed no sign of nerves and was bullish in his answers.

"We don’t need any excuses. I need players ready to run," the Dane demanded when asked about the team's poor run of recent form. "And if they can’t run anymore, they should tell me and I can take them off. I can make five substitutions, so we’ll manage being able to run to the end."

As no stranger to the Dortmund ecosystem, he was also asked if he would be introducing some young players at the weekend. Again, he was clear in his response: "We need everyone. It doesn't matter if I've coached them before. My backroom staff and I will look to pick the best team."

The Dane took over the Black & Yellows' second team in 2019 and made a name for himself at the club as a youth development specialist. A year later, Tullberg became the U19s coach, but he did not see it as a step down.

"I'm happy that Lars Ricken convinced me to go to the U19s. I wanted to work with the best young talents. This is where I can find them," the coach told website transfermarkt.de. "I really wanted to play in the UEFA Youth League and saw the job as a promotion."

Youth development specialist

Youssoufa Moukoko, Jamie Gittens and Tom Rothe - among others - have all benefited from Tullberg's expert guidance as they worked their way into the club's professional squad. In 2022, the coach guided BVB to the U19 Bundesliga title, also reaching the final again in 2023 and 2024. The young coach is regarded as a particularly good motivator and man manager.

His own playing career was rather mixed. Tullberg initially played for Aarhus, then moved to Serie A club Reggina. There, the striker only made a few appearances, and this was also the case with subsequent clubs Heart of Midlothian in Scotland and with Rot-Weiss Oberhausen in Germany. Time and again, Tullberg was hit by injury and ultimately had to hang up his boots.

As a coach, however, his career is going much better, and Saturday will see him at the helm for his first-ever top-flight match - in the dugout of Borussia Dortmund.

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