In the winter he was given two minders, Nuri Sahin and Sven Bender. Five months later, Edin Terzic has become Dortmund’s master builder of success.
It was only a seemingly small moment, but it had great significance for BVB’s inner life: When the final whistle sounded in Paris’ Prinzenpark after 90 exciting minutes, Edin Terzic and Nuri Sahin fell into each other’s arms. Happy. Both laughed and followed BVB’s 1-0 win, which meant a place in the Champions League final, with a little dance performance on the sidelines.
Meanwhile, the players were having a blast in the catacombs. “All hell was going on in the dressing room, loud music and alcohol,” reported BVB sports director Sebastian Kehl from inside the stadium after the 1-0 (0-0) in the semi-final second leg at Paris St. Germain – and the pictures, Those who made it out into the football world made it clear that Kehl wasn’t exaggerating.
Cabin table as a water slide
Young star Youssoufa Moukoko gave insights on his Instagram channel – you could see how substitute goalkeeper Alexander Meyer converted the cabin table into a water slide and slid over it. The victory celebration was raging around him, Jadon Sancho became a DJ and danced across the table to the sounds of Adele.
Borussia Dortmund’s entry into the final is as surprising as it is triumphant. And it was arranged by a coaching team that was viewed extremely critically at the beginning of the year. Finally, in January, head coach Edin Terzic was given two BVB ex-professionals, Sven Bender and Nuri Sahin, who had achieved much more as active footballers than the young BVB head coach.
Press reviews – “Borussia Dortmund has blossomed” arrow on the right
Sahin and Bender – two “minders” for Terzic?
For some people it even looked as if Terzic had been given two “guardians” at his side who could take over the helm completely if the team did not develop as quickly as possible in terms of sport as those in charge wanted.
After all, Sahin in particular has never made a secret of his ambitions: “I allowed myself to be persuaded to take on this role as assistant coach because BVB is my home club. Actually, I see myself as the head coach of a club in the future,” the Sauerland native recently said let know.
Sahin sets the tone
And even at the winter training camp in Marbella, Sahin’s announcements could be heard again and again on the training field: The co-director directed, corrected and praised the execution of the exercises. Terzic mostly watched and only occasionally warned: “Listen, men!”
The BVB officials had undoubtedly launched a daring maneuver – after all, it is not part of the classic behavior of a club board to put its own coach to such a test and weaken his position.
Respect from Sammer, triumph for Terzic
Club advisor Matthias Sammer also felt the same way. In front of the TV microphone after the game on Tuesday, he stood up for Terzic: “He is a young coach who is always developing. You have to show respect for the way he handled the situation, that he Sahin and Bender has been put to the side.” Now, by making it to the final, Terzic has proven all his critics wrong and also achieved a very personal triumph.
After BVB’s almost outrageous aluminum luck (PSG hit the post or crossbar six times in the two games), his sports director Kehl had a special request: “We should dismantle the goal and take it with us to Dortmund,” he said with a wink: ” Maybe we need it again at Wembley.”
State of emergency in Dortmund
A measure that the fans who put Dortmund into a state of emergency that night would certainly also agree. There was a party atmosphere around Borsigplatz. The supporters lit fireworks and drove through the city in a car parade honking, strangers hugging each other almost a year after BVB’s masterful drama. “Today we were able to give something back to our fans,” said Terzic in Paris.
Return to Wembley for Kehl, Sahin and Bender
Borussia Dortmund are now returning to Wembley for another Champions League final eleven years after their bitter defeat against Bayern Munich. By the way, it is also a return for Sven Bender and Nuri Sahin. The two long-time BVB professionals were both on the pitch in the final against FC Bayern: Sahin came on as a substitute for Bender in the 90th minute, immediately after the 1-2 score. At that time he could no longer turn the game around.
Sebastian Kehl sat on the bench at Wembley in 2013 and was not substituted, eleven years later he says: “I would like nothing more than to play this final again. That would be great for the Bundesliga, for Germany and also for the clubs .” Only this time maybe with a different outcome.