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Tag: Dortmund

  • Raiola admits blocking Haaland from joining Man Utd

    Raiola admits blocking Haaland from joining Man Utd

    Super agent Mino Raiola admits blocking Erling Haaland from joining Manchester United in January 2020.

    Raiola has admitted he was “maybe too careful” in moving Haaland to Borussia Dortmund last year with the Norwegian striker now the most in-demand player in world football.

    Before joining Dortmund in January 2020, Haaland and agent Raiola turned down the chance to reunite the player with his former Molde boss Ole Gunner Solskjaer at Old Trafford.

    “Haaland is in front of his own development. He is ahead of his own schedule. Maybe I was too careful when I said, ‘Oh no, let’s move to Dortmund instead of I-don’t-know-where’,” Raiola told the Athletic.

    “This boy — I’m 100 per cent convinced and everybody’s convinced — can move to any club, wherever he wants, already on this level. And he could have done that last year.

    “But maybe last year there were still teams (saying), ‘Oh, he was in Red Bull (Salzburg), can he do it in another club?’.

    “He is quicker than his own prediction. So yeah, Haaland is the talk of the town.”

  • Haaland tells agent: Get me out of Dortmund if…

    Haaland tells agent: Get me out of Dortmund if…

    Erling Haaland is prepared to quit Borussia Dortmund this summer if they miss out on Champions League qualification.

    AS says Manchester United have been given a boost in their pursuit of Haaland – with the striker set to quit this summer if Borussia Dortmund miss out on the Champions League.

    The Norwegian wonderkid, 20, showed his frustration on Saturday as he stormed off the pitch following his side’s 2-2 draw with Koln.

    And now Haaland could walk away from Dortmund this summer, with Man Utd and Real Madrid poised, if they miss out on a seat at Europe’s top table.

    The Spanish publication has even claimed Haaland has spoken to his agent, Mino Raiola, to make it crystal clear he wants to quit if Champions League football is off the table at the Westfalenstadion.

  • Bundesliga: Dortmund dump coach Lucien Favre

    Bundesliga: Dortmund dump coach Lucien Favre

    Borussia Dortmund have sacked coach Lucien Favre.

    Dortmund have sacked their Favre after their humiliating 5-1 at home to Stuttgart on Saturday.

    It is believed the squad will be informed about the decision during their training session on Sunday afternoon, and Favre’s previous assistant coach Edin Terzic will take charge of the team against Werder Bremen.

    As it stands, Dortmund currently sit fifth in

    Borussia Dortmund have sacked coach Lucien Favre.

    Dortmund have sacked their Favre after their humiliating 5-1 at home to Stuttgart on Saturday.

    It is believed the squad will be informed about the decision during their training session on Sunday afternoon, and Favre’s previous assistant coach Edin Terzic will take charge of the team against Werder Bremen.

    As it stands, Dortmund currently sit fifth in the Bundesliga table on 19 points from their first 11 games.

    During Favre’s time at the helm, Dortmund have played 110 games, won 68, drawn 17 and lost 25.

    Bundesliga table on 19 points from their first 11 games.

    During Favre’s time at the helm, Dortmund have played 110 games, won 68, drawn 17 and lost 25.

  • Bundesliga: Rampant Bayern attack faces stingy Dortmund defence in “Klassiker”

    Bundesliga: Rampant Bayern attack faces stingy Dortmund defence in “Klassiker”

    If there is one team that can stop Bayern Munich’s rampant attack, it would appear to be arch-rivals Borussia Dortmund.

    The two sides, who are level at the top of the Bundesliga with five wins and one defeat each from six games, meet in a German “Klassiker” on Saturday.

    It is a match which pits the league’s best attack against its tightest defence.

    While titleholders Bayern Munich have blasted 24 goals in six games, last season’s runners-up Borussia Dortmund have conceded only two, both in a 2-0 defeat at Augsburg.

    But they have kept clean sheets in their other five matches.

    Borussia Dortmund, hosts on Saturday, have played 374 minutes in all competitions since conceding their last goal in the 3-1 UEFA Champions League defeat to Lazio.

    Coach Lucien Favre has reverted to his preferred four-man defence this season, having switched to a three-man back line halfway through the last campaign due to what he described as a “few problems.”

    “We feel very comfortable with the new system,” said defender Manuel Akanji after their 3-0 win at Club Brugge on Wednesday.

    “Sometimes you need a small change and I think the return to the four-man defence has helped.”

    Borussia Dortmund are hoping that Akanji’s regular partner at the centre of defence, Mats Hummels, will be fit after missing the Brugge match.

    Bayern, 6-2 winners at Salzburg on Tuesday, are on a remarkable run.

    They have won 27 out of their 28 matches in all competitions since football restarted in May following the coronavirus stoppage.

    Former Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski has led the way and has scored 10 league goals already this season, at an average of one every 37 minutes.

    Bayern Munich did the double over Borussia Dortmund last season as they won the title by 13 points and also beat their rivals 3-2 in the Super Cup in December.

    Even so, the club lived up to their reputation for off-field drama this week.

    This was after president Herbert Hainer said in a radio interview that they had withdrawn their offer to long-serving David Alaba over a contract extension.

    The Austrian said he was disappointed that details had come out into the open while his team mates and coach Hansi Flick both backed him.

    “It’s important to me that we have calm in the team and our surroundings,” said Flick. “We have a very, very important game against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday and I’m not interested in anything else. I won’t say anything more about it.”

  • Bayern Munich closer to league title after 1-0 win at Dortmund

    Joshua Kimmich’s first-half lob gave leaders Bayern Munich a 1-0 victory at second-placed Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga on Tuesday.

    The slim win closes Bayern in on the league title with a seven-point advantage over their rivals and six games left in the season.

    Kimmich, sent a perfectly-weighted chip over stranded keeper, Roman Buerki in the 43rd minute as the champions landed big win, at an empty stadium that normally seats 80,000 fans.

    The win is in the visitors’ quest for a record-extending eighth straight league crown.

    Bayern, who have now won their last seven league matches, are on 64 points with Dortmund still on 57. RB Leipzig, who face Hertha Berlin on Wednesday, are third on 54.

    The Bundesliga became the first major league to restart 10 days ago after a break of more than two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with games played without supporters to reduce the risk of infection.

  • Erling Haaland scores on Bundesliga return

    Erling Haaland scores on Bundesliga return

    Erling Braut Haaland scored for Borussia Dortmund as they marked the return of the Bundesliga during the coronavirus outbreak with a convincing derby win over Schalke.

    The game will mostly be remembered for the surreal circumstances in which it was played, as Germany became the first major league in Europe to resume action behind closed doors.

    There was an eerie atmosphere at Dortmund’s iconic Signal Iduna Park stadium, with every shout by players or coaches audible, and social distancing protocol followed by substitutes and during goal celebrations.

    Haaland opened the scoring with a trademark cool finish, flicking home Thorgen Hazard’s cross to continue his sensational season, albeit after an enforced break of almost 10 weeks.

    Raphael Guerreiro added two more goals and Hazard also found the net as Dortmund went on to claim a comfortable win over their near neighbours and move within a point of leaders Bayern Munich, who play on Sunday.

  • UCL: PSG overcome Dortmund to reach quarter-finals

    UCL: PSG overcome Dortmund to reach quarter-finals

    Paris St-Germain rid themselves of their Champions League curse as they overturned a 2-1 deficit against Borussia Dortmund inside an empty Parc des Princes to reach the last eight.

    Concerns over the coronavirus meant fans were barred, but many gathered outside the stadium and celebrated when Neymar headed PSG into the lead.

    Juan Bernat made it 3-2 on aggregate when he turned in Pablo Sarabia’s ball.

    Dortmund’s Emre Can saw red late on after two bookings in quick succession.

    PSG’s players celebrated wildly at full-time before greeting the hundreds of supporters who remained outside the Parc des Princes.

  • Tuchel surprised by PSG players partying after Dortmund defeat

    Tuchel surprised by PSG players partying after Dortmund defeat

    Paris St-Germain (PSG) coach Thomas Tuchel said he was surprised to see a video of his players partying two days after they were beaten 2-1 at Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund.

    The loss was in their UEFA Champions League last 16 first leg fixture on Tuesday in Dortmund.

    Neymar and Kylian Mbappe were among those attending a late party to celebrate the birthdays of Mauro Icardi, Edinson Cavani and Angel Di Maria.

    “I was really surprised yesterday (Friday) afternoon to see that video. Really surprised.

    “We talked about it internally and it has to stay within the club,”Tuchel told reporters on Saturday on the eve of their Ligue 1 home game against Girondins de Bordeaux.

    PSG lead the standings with 62 points from 25 games, 10 points ahead of second-placed Olympique de Marseille who host Nantes later on Saturday.

    The French champions host Borussia Dortmund in the return leg on March 11.

  • UCL: Unstoppable Haaland scores twice in PSG showdown

    UCL: Unstoppable Haaland scores twice in PSG showdown

    Borussia Dortmund teenager Erling Haaland scored twice in eight minutes on Tuesday to lead his German club to a 2-1 victory over Paris St-Germain (PSG).

    In their 2019/2020 UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first leg game in Dortmund, the Norwegian stabbed in from close range after a quick-fire passing move in the 69th minute.

    The 19-year-old who joined in the winter has already netted eight times in five Bundesliga matches.

    He then thundered in an unstoppable shot for his second goal in the 77th, two minutes after PSG’s Brazilian forward Neymar had levelled for the French champions.

    Haaland, the first Borussia Dortmund player to score in his first league, German Cup and Champions League matches, has reached 10 goals in seven games in Europe’s elite competition this season.

    These included eight for Salzburg in the group stage, and it is faster than anyone.

    He is only the second teenager to net 10 Champions League goals, after Kylian Mbappe, and is the first teenager to score 10 in a single campaign in the competition.

    “I still need to improve, keep working,” Haaland said. “I want to go far in the Champions League. With the second goal I enjoyed the moment.”

    PSG, who were eliminated at this stage of the competition in the previous three seasons, had fit-again Neymar and Mbappe back in the starting line-up.

    But they were almost completely shut out by an extremely efficient Borussia Dortmund backline.

    In a cautious first half, the French side had the slight advantage in possession.

    But Dortmund carved out the only real chance after 27 minutes with a curled shot from Jadon Sancho.

    Mbappe and Neymar were kept under tight surveillance.

    Borussia Dortmund defenders Mats Hummels, Lukasz Piszczek —- on his 350th appearance for the club in all competitions —- and Dan Axel Zagadou denying the pair any space to manoeuvre.

    The Germans’ main firepower, Haaland, was also shackled for about an hour before he finally found some space to complete a quick Borussia Dortmund move.

    PSG, who will be without Marco Verratti and Thomas Meunier for the return leg after they picked up bookings, drew level through Neymar.

    The Brazilian found the net after a fine run down the right by Mbappe.

    He also later hit the post.

    But the visitors could do nothing when 17-year-old substitute Giovanni Reyna found Haaland at the edge of the box.

    The in-form forward released a fiercely-struck left foot effort that gave PSG goalkeeper Keylor Navas no chance.

    The return leg is in Paris on March 11.

  • UCL: Kane scores in Dortmund as Spurs stroll into last eight

    UCL: Kane scores in Dortmund as Spurs stroll into last eight

    Tottenham Hotspur beat hosts Borussia Dortmund 1-0 on Tuesday thanks to a Harry Kane winner, to stroll into the Champions League quarter-finals.

    It was only the English club’s second time of reaching the quarter-finals of the elite European club competition in their history with a 4-0 aggregate victory.

    Kane, who missed the first leg through injury, fired in the winner shortly after the restart to silence a fiery home crowd.

    The goal left Dortmund needing five goals after having lost 3-0 in London last month.

    The Germans, who have seen their seven-point lead in the league evaporate in recent weeks and are also out of the German Cup, have never overturned a 3-0 first leg deficit in the competition.

    Despite a valiant effort in the first half, they were unable to score.

    For Tottenham, whose only other quarter-final appearance came in the 2010/11 season, it turned out to be an easier task than expected.