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The training session of the BVB-U23 on Thursday was completed accident-free. There are no special occurrences. Jan Zimmermann is standing in front of the functional building in Brackel. The trainer is just talking when Paul Jankowski comes rushing up from behind with his golf cart. With his motorized vehicle, the supervisor transports the equipment to the training ground and back. In any case, Jankowski rolls up at this moment, but stops in time. “Attention, attention – you can honk! Don’t you have a horn?” Zimmermann teases. “No, no horn,” replies Jankowski. “That doesn’t exist, we’ll retrofit it,” orders Zimmermann with a laugh.
New tactical frame for BVB-U23
He’s in the process of retrofitting anyway. That’s a little thing with the horn. In the first few weeks since taking office, he has given his team a tactical framework within which they feel noticeably comfortable. At the 4:0 gegen Waldhof Mannheim have brought uncompromising work against the ball and quick switching moments with the ball the highest win of the season. BVB would like to build on that on Friday (7 p.m.) with SC Freiburg’s U23 team.
“Freiburg has done a lot of things right in recent years. You have found a way for yourself to tie the U23 and the Bundesliga team closely together. They have strong permeability in both directions. That doesn’t make it that easy for us in preparation either, because they have so many good options for exchanging players,” admits Zimmermann in an interview with Ruhr Nachrichten.
The people of Breisgau – victorious in the first leg 2-0 in Dortmund – haven’t lost a game this year. Viktoria from Cologne recently had to find out how strong they are. Their coach Olaf Janßen said after the 3-0 defeat against Freiburg: “Freiburg was simply better. They tormented us with the ball.” Borussia would like to avoid a similar scenario at all costs.
Much praise for SC Freiburg
“They also play very clear football for a young team. They have a clear approach, a clear positional game, from which they have many changes. They work a lot with deep runs and alternating movements. Clear patterns can be seen that have been worked out. You can see that there is a clear plan behind it. We have to be well prepared in order not to be outplayed,” Zimmermann lists.
Can he learn something from the opponent for working with his own U23? A look at the competition in Breisgau is definitely worthwhile. However, they do not want to copy their approach. “We have our own ideas and we want to try to get many of them on the field and assert ourselves with our football,” said the BVB coach.
That should mean surviving difficult moments on Friday. “I told the boys: Every opponent has quality. We have to accept that the situations that we thought about beforehand sometimes don’t work out that way in the game. What matters is how we react to it. Freiburg will also pose problems for us from time to time with its quality. This is going to be intense. We have to be prepared to accept phases in the game in which we have to defend well,” emphasizes Jan Zimmermann.
Kamara lock hurts BVB-U23
The second in the table, who has a dangerous center forward in Vincent Vermej (twelve goals this season) in his ranks, therefore needs a similarly good collective performance as last time against Mannheim. In principle, the entire starting eleven from the previous week recommended itself for a renewed commitment from the start. There is still a need for change. The one already warned Abdoulaye Camera saw the yellow-red card against Mannheim in the 89th minute for blocking the ball and is suspended. “I would have wished for a lot more sensitivity from the referee, that was totally unnecessary,” says Zimmermann.
But it’s no use: He has to replace the French in Breisgau. “It’s a pity, because we made a very stable impression in the constellation with Franz Pfanne. But we have alternatives,” assures the BVB coach. In addition, Niklas Dams, Mario Suver and Rodney Elongo-Yombo are suffering from an infection.
“The boys were there for each other against Mannheim. If something didn’t work for one, the other ironed out the error. We showed a good mentality as a group. That has to be the key, otherwise it’s difficult to score points in the 3rd league,” emphasizes Zimmermann. As far as that is concerned, his team has recently upgraded noticeably. It only remains to be clarified when Paul Jankowski’s golf cart will also have a horn added.
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