The game Borussia Dortmund against Bayer Leverkusen was a spectacle. Just as spectacular was Jude Bellingham’s catch of beer mugs. While many fans celebrate the young star for it, there are mixed feelings at BVB.
It was a heady cheer that football fans saw from Jude Bellingham on Saturday – and one that not everyone likes. The sensational catch of the young star’s beer mug was frenetically celebrated by BVB supporters in the stands and online. The BVB bosses found the scene in which Bellingham caught the mug of an angry Bayer fan, poured the rest of the drink on his face and spit on the lawn, but not at all funny.
Many Dortmunders also had a mixed, even uncomfortable feeling from the game. Somehow it was all too much show. So despite all the joy about the emotional victory, the impression remained: We won’t become champions like this!
Bellingham: “Perfect Day for My First Beer”
“I told him not to do that,” said licensing director Sebastian Kehl immediately after the final whistle of Bellingham, whom the “Sun” christened “Beer-Lingham” in his English homeland: “And I’ll do that again right away to say.” Undeterred, the 17-year-old posted the pictures of the scene shortly afterwards and wrote: “Perfect day for my first beer … I’m not a fan.” The official BVB account replied: “How can you not love this guy?”
As a soccer fan you had to love this game too. Not just because of the seven goals. Also because of the dramaturgy, the inspiring offensive football of both teams and the many emotional discussions. “That’s why children dream of becoming professionals,” said Leverkusen’s coach Gerardo Seoane despite the “annoying” defeat.
BVB conceded too many goals
In return, not everything was rosy for BVB. “We made it difficult for ourselves,” said Kehl. And captain Marco Reus analyzed: “In the end we win, but it took a lot of strength. And we don’t want that. We get way too many and way too easy goals.” When asked whether he “worries”, Reus replied briefly: “Yes!”
Coach Marco Rose also said after the victory on his 45th birthday. “It pisses me off how many goals we concede and in what form. We have a lot to talk about, no question about it.” This pronunciation will be clear and blunt, the coach announced: “I know that I train good guys. But if they need the direction, they like to be given the direction.”
Too little for the title?
The nine goals conceded after four match days – BVB last had that many 30 years ago – are not a defensive problem, “but a cohesive team issue. It’s all about attitude,” said Rose: “To the question: How ready am I? As an offensive player, how much do I think of losing the ball? We have to sharpen our senses again. ” BVB has been looking for a balance between offensive magic and defensive work for years. Finding you will be Rose’s greatest and most difficult task.
However, defensively it is also a question of individual class. When a Wolfsburg loan like Marin Pongracic, who was only used ten times at VfL last year, is in the starting line-up without a single tactical unit with the team, that’s significant. In Leverkusen, the morale helped the BVB, a video evidence of the victory bringing penalty and once again the individual class of Erling Haaland.
The Norwegian scored two goals, prepared another one and always went ahead, was the passion personified. Relying on him alone would not be enough in the fight for the title. Or as Reus put it: “We can’t always score three or four goals to win.”
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
