BVB coach Edin Terzić: "We want to win the Champions League!“
11 years after their tragic loss against Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund find themselves once again in London - and once again in the Champions League final. BVB coach Edin Terzić had a lot to say at the first press conference of the week.
Here are the most important quotes from Terzić about the final on Saturday, separated into four parts:
- About the preparation for the final.
- About the team selection.
- About the opponent Real Madrid.
- About BVB‘s finals in recent history.
About the preparation for the final:
„We have a great energy and atmosphere in our training sessions at the moment. Everyone believes we can achieve something big on Saturday.“
„Everything we did in the last few weeks was under the premise of „How does it help me for the Champions League final?“ - whether it was a playing style or the team selection, we‘ve tried to perfectly prepare our team for the most important game of the season in order to play our best game of the season right there and then.“
„Of course it was not our goal to just qualify for the final - we want to win the final. But I am strong believer of the fact that everything is possible in a single game. That’s why we went into every single game in the Champions League as if that specific game was the only one there is. This tactic seems to have worked quite well this season.“
„Being nervous is no problem for me. We are a great team and we are always there for one another. My staff and the players, they all give me so much strength and believe, it’s just a great atmosphere. Adding to that, being nervous means to me that you‘ll prepare even more precisely in order to make the nervousness go away.“
„Our mindset is pretty clear: don‘t play the occasion, play the game. We will not be affected by what‘s around the field, as we weren‘t in Paris. We are so close to bringing the cup back home and that‘s what we want to do.“
„I don‘t know yet what I will say to the players right before the game, if I speak in English or German and whether I‘ll be loud or quiet. I‘m betting on finding the right words when the time is right. But the general preparation and motivation is not just before the whistle blows, but over the course of the whole season.“
„I‘ll definitely not overthink what we want to do on Saturday. We‘ll do what we have always done in this season because, once again, we are playing the game, not the occasion.“
About the team selection for the final:
„Three players who are definitely unavailable for Saturday are Remy Bensebaini, Julien Duranville and Mateu Morey. Everybody else is fit and excited.“
„A good starting eleven won’t be enough to win the game on Saturday. Every player is important, the ones who get substituted in and the ones who will have to stay on the bench. We need everyone in order to achieve our big goal and win against Madrid.“
(About Jadon Sancho)
„He only needs to prove he wants to win the Champions League with us. I think it‘s clear to see that he‘s feeling very good here, with us in the team. In my opinion he would‘ve deserved to get the England call up for the Euros, but it’s not my call.“
(About Marco Reus)
„I think I‘ve talked a lot about him in the recent weeks, he‘s an icon of the club who started his career here and hopefully have a fairytale ending as well. I had the privilege of sharing half of his time at Dortmund with him here. If you look at how much he is loved here, you‘ll see he has done a lot of right things made the right decisions.
I will always have fond memories of this career - but it‘s not over yet and I‘m sure he will try his best to end it on a high. Without talking specifically about the starting formation: I need Marco on Saturday - we need his qualities, he has shown what he can do in moments like this. We need everyone, but we most definitely need Marco.“
About the opponent Real Madrid:
„I have the upmost respect for Carlo Ancelotti and his career. The fact he is nervous before the game against us just means to me that he respects us and that we are doing the right things.“
„Real Madrid haven’t lost a major final in the last 40 years? Good thing I‘m 41 years old - it doesn’t matter to us, what Madrid have done in the last finals they were in, the only important final is the one on Saturday.“
„Watching this Real Madrid side in front of the TV or in person are two completely different things. They‘ve managed a seemingly problem free transition from one era to another, winning championships in the process. Who would‘ve thought they‘d be as successful as they are now after losing players like Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo? They are well set up for the next ten years.“
„Nevertheless, we did find some aspects in their game which we can attack, where we can hurt them. But we also know that many teams this season have tried to beat Madrid - and failed. There are certainly things to watch out for - but we don‘t have to hide, we want to show ourselves and if we can do that, we will see a great game on Saturday.“
About BVB‘s finals in recent history:
„It‘s a very different situation to the last time we were in the final - nowadays you have huge TV deals and big investors pumping money into football teams. I don’t think years like this will happen very often in the coming seasons for clubs like Dortmund, which makes this final very special for us.“
„Last year‘s dramatic „final“ in the Bundesliga, when we lost out to Bayern, was a very different situation to where we are now. I did say back then: this tragic part is the beginning of our success story. I will never forget this day, just because I‘ve learnt so much back then. It‘s part of Borussia Dortmund. Every fan who was there for us a year ago is now travelling to London for the Champions League final - and it‘s time to give back to our fans in my opinion!“