Celebrated by the fans, praised by their players, respected by the club bosses: Edin Terzic and Marco Rose are currently giving their clubs from Dortmund and Leipzig spring fever. Both seem to be in the right place at the right time and, after an impressive race to catch up, are well on the way to shattering the years of sole rule of FC Bayern Munich.
A victory in a direct duel on Friday (8.30 p.m. / Dazn) could further strengthen the belief in a change of power. “Edin has done an outstanding job with his team. You can tell that something is growing together at the moment,” enthused Dortmund’s sporting director Sebastian Kehl.
Nine competitive wins in a row at BVB bring back memories of blissful championship times under Jürgen Klopp and encourage the club management in their belief that they have finally found what they were looking for in Terzic in their long search for a suitable coach. Since Klopp’s departure in 2015, none of his six successors has enjoyed greater fan recognition than the 40-year-old.
The fact that BVB, which was written off before the winter break, is now being traded as a title aspirant, is due to Terzic. Unlike predecessors like Thomas Tuchel, Lucien Favre or Rose, he seems to have found a strategy to reduce his team’s deficits in mentality.
As in his time as interim coach from December 2020 to summer 2021, when BVB managed to qualify for the Champions League with a successful final sprint and triumphed over Leipzig (4-1) in the cup final, the team has recently been convincing with unconditional resistance. The winter blues have turned into self-confidence. Players like Emre Can, Karim Adeyemi or Nico Schlotterbeck look like they’ve been changed.
The fact that his team hasn’t picked up more points (46) after 22 matchdays than under Rose’s direction the year before is lost in the renewed euphoria. After all, unlike twelve months ago, BVB is still in the round of 16 of the Champions League and in the quarter-finals of the cup.
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competitive matches Leipzig was undefeated under Rose. Club record set.
The plan to create a new performance culture through appropriate transfers last summer is apparently slowly paying off. “I believe that the path we have taken with Edin currently proves us right,” says Kehl. Terzic sees it similarly: “If we manage to consistently get our quality onto the pitch, a lot is possible this season.”
But the key games are yet to come. A lot will depend on whether Borussia confirms the positive trend in the games against Leipzig, Chelsea (7 March) and FC Schalke 04 (11 March). “It will be the most important week of the current season. A trend can be seen in these three games as to how to proceed. But we hope that there will be more important weeks,” said Terzic.
Many players already knew Rose
Similar hymns of praise can be heard from Leipzig about Rose. After his surprising exit from BVB in the summer of 2022, the 46-year-old seems to have found the right club for him in his hometown.
Since their debut on September 10, 2022 against Dortmund (3-0) of all places, no other Bundesliga club has scored more points than Leipzig. Knowing the RB philosophy inside out made it easier for Rose. From 2013 to 2019 he worked first as a youth coach and later as head coach at RB Salzburg. With 18 games without defeat, he equaled Ralf Rangnick’s club record, who had achieved this series in the 2018/2019 season.
There are many success factors. Unlike his predecessor Domenico Tedesco, Rose relied heavily on his Salzburg star students like Xaver Schlager, Dominik Szoboszlai and Amadou Haidara from the start. They repaid it with performance. “If I don’t give my all, he won’t let me play. It was an advantage that he didn’t have to explain to us how he thinks about football and what he demands. Half the team knew him and his style,” said Szoboszlai.
Rose demands willingness to run, speed and mentality – and solutions in the penalty area. “We have more specifications for the processes in the last third. The coach specifies many things, such as his handwriting,” said Schlager, who surprisingly won the Youth League with Haidara in 2017 under Rose as captain. Although Rose is a buddy type, he always keeps his distance. Also, he treats everyone the same.
The vita of both coaches increases the explosiveness of the game between the second in the table and the fourth from Leipzig. Finally, the then interim solution Terzic had to give up his place to Rose in the summer of 2021 and became technical director at BVB. Only after Rose left Dortmund a year later did Terzic return to the coaching bench. This interplay of personnel did not harm mutual respect. “We get along really well. He’s an outstanding coach and a great guy,” said Terzic.
Rose spoke about his opponent with comparably respectful: “He’s a young man from Dortmund, similar to how I come from Leipzig. Of course you can feel how deeply rooted he is in the club. Edin is a very fine person, a great coach. I can still only say that the cooperation was really good that year. I am happy to see him.” (dpa)
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