From afar, BVB looks to be having a great campaign. They’ve collected 51 points in 22 Bundesliga games and are still alive in the Champions in February. But if you zoom in, you’ll still notice missed opportunities after missed opportunities. In the Bundesliga, four second-half blown leads (three of which were in the 89th minute or later) keep Die Schwarzgelben from leading the table or at least tied for the top. In the UCL, again two late blow leads against Juventus and Bodø/Glimt, and obtaining
zero points in their arguably three toughest matches in the competition, give the team a much tougher route to advance than we’d hope. Couple this with a less-than-pretty style of play in many games, it is worrisome that this formation, this coach, this group of players do not equate to a sustainable formula for winning.
It’s all in front of BVB
That being said, a four-game stretch including a home and away with Atalanta, away to Leipzig, and a home edition of Der Klassiker will define the season. The head coach and sporting management staff took on this season with an intentionally small roster. On the positive side, it has allowed for consistent minutes for the core members. This means better chemistry between the squad and growth for the young, high-potential players. On the negative side, it leads to situations like the ones we face today and possibly for the next couple of weeks. We have one fit natural center back when our formation calls for three. We’ve had the same combination of center midfielders (Nmecha and Jobe) for seven straight games. A simple knock could be devastating to this squad at the moment.
If we have 11 men, we’re going to play
But Niko Kovac hasn’t blinked. Much like the start of his tenure in Dortmund, he reaffirmed confidence in the team. But what really has been refreshing is his ‘show it, don’t say it’ mentality. He’s consistently softened expectations for the season in his press conferences. But week in and week out, the expectation is the same, and that is we are expected to compete and give ourselves a chance to win every game. Maybe this is the area we need to operate. One game at a time, collect your three points and go home, and we can hope for meaningful football well into every spring.
There have been no excuses with Kovac at the helm, and that’s the exact attitude needed for this stretch of games that could launch BVB into the final 16 of the UCL and (keeping with the theme of the last paragraph) apply real pressure to the table leaders.
