Plenty of praise for Witsel after debut: 'He took over the game'
The Dortmund camp was full of praise for Axel Witsel following the midfielder's official debut for the club yesterday.
| Axel Witsel (left) with Dries Mertens. | Photo: Кирилл Венедиктов/Soccer.ru/CC-by-SA 3.0 |
The 29-year-old replaced Thomas Delaney in the 74th minute of the DFB-Pokal match against Greuther Fürth and scored a vital injury time goal that sent the game into extra time with Dortmund eventually winning 2-1.
Afterwards, the Dortmund camp waxed lyrical about Witsel in interviews with Sport1 because of the instant quality the Belgian international showed after he was sent on the pitch. Here are the reactions:
Marco Reus, Borussia Dortmund captain:
"When he came on, he brought character into the game, not only because of his big size, but also in the way he looks for his teammates. That was really good. We have really needed somebody like that."
Lucien Favre, Borussia Dortmund head coach:
"He played with ease and calmness and kept the ball at the right moments which is important for the team."
Sebastian Kehl, head of Borussia Dortmund's licensed player department:
"The change with Axel was obviously helpful for us, because he brought back the structure and calmness. He helped us to a certain amount of security, to be clever and to avoid counter-attacks."
Michael Zorc, Borussia Dortmund sporting director:
"It was great! He immediately took over the game and was the focal point. We didn't actually sign him to score goals, but he also helped with that today."
