Tigges respectful after scoring against Dortmund: "I owe the BVB quite a lot."
On a day that was supposed to be marked by the return of Anthony Modeste to Köln, it was actually former Dortmund striker Steffen Tigges who scored against his former club.
Afterwards, the 24-year-old who was first promoted to the BVB senior squad by none other than current Dortmund trainer Edin Terzic in December 2020 wished to make clear that he still appreciated the team that gave him a chance.
Steffen Tigges certainly picked an apt time to score his first Bundesliga goal for his new club. The recently signed striker headed home a Florian Kainz corner in the 56th minute of Saturday's 3-2 win over Dortmund. The goal capped an amazing quick comeback to give Köln a 2-1 lead. The hosting Geißböcke would not relinquish the lead for the rest of the afternoon.
Afterwards, the 24-year-old who was first promoted to the BVB senior squad by none other than current Dortmund trainer Edin Terzic in December 2020 wished to make clear that he still appreciated the team that gave him a chance.
Tigges had tallied for Köln in the Conference League, but today's goal was his very first in the colors of the Domstädter. The striker's other three league tallies came when he donned the yellow-and-black of the BVB amidst an injury-riddled campaign last season. Though all three also came under then head-coach Marco Rose, it was current Dortmund trainer Edin Terzic who first gave him his shot.
Tigges was first called up by Terzic to serve in Dortmund's second round Pokal fixture a few days before Christmas in December 2020. Shortly after the turn of the calendar year, he made his league debut for the senior team. At the age of 22, Tigges was a relatively late bloomer compared to the normal young talents that the BVB typically snatch up to ramrod though their youth system before their market value skyrockets.
Tigges thanked his former club and coach after what he labelled a "huge game". Much like teammates Dejan Ljubicic and Timo Hübers (who also spoke of the way the team came out highly motivated in the second-half), Tigges spoke of an energizing half-time team talk that spurned Köln onto a "furious opening phase after the restart".
After celebrating his goal in front of the Südkurve, Tigges didn't really feel the need to rub anything else in.
"The fact that it's against my ex-club doesn't play a huge role for me," Tigges said in his post-match interview, "I'm happy that we won against such a good opponent. When I scored, I wanted to show respect. I owe a lot to the BVB; not least the fact that I'm allowed to stand here. But you could see that I was very happy."