Frankfurt star Knauff looking forward to reunion with Dortmund | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund faces Eintracht Frankfurt in the DFB-Pokal – and for Ansgar Knauff, it will be a special match. The former BVB player is looking forward to the reunion with his former club.

When Eintracht Frankfurt hosts Borussia Dortmund in the DFB-Pokal on Tuesday evening, it will be a special reunion for Ansgar Knauff. The 23-year-old will face the club where he grew up and made the leap to professional football before moving to Eintracht in 2022.

“After such a long time with Borussia, I already found the matches against Dortmund to be something special in recent years,” Knauff said in an interview with kicker. Although not many former teammates are still active at BVB, “I still know many employees from the club and look forward to seeing them at the stadium.” With a smile, he added, “But I’m most excited when we win against them and advance to the next round.”

Knauff spent almost six years in Dortmund, joining Borussia's youth team in 2016 and progressing through all the youth stages. “I can't single out any one person; overall, Dortmund does very good youth work,” emphasized the native of Göttingen.

Frankfurt star Knauff emphasizes gratitude towards BVB

“I always felt comfortable and well taken care of at BVB.” Particularly, the playing experience with the U23 and the appearances with the professionals “shaped and developed” him. For that, he is “still grateful” to the club.

Before the cup duel, Knauff expects a close match. “In recent years, those were very intense and close games,” explained the winger. “In a cup match, any action can decide the game. That's why we have to be there from the first moment and play boldly forward. Then we have a chance.”

Aside from the match, the right winger clearly commits to his current sporting home. “I always focus on the here and now and am very happy at Eintracht,” said Ansgar Knauff, who is under contract in Frankfurt until 2028. Although he often comes on as a substitute this season, his goal remains clear: “I give my best to play my way in and be able to start most games from the beginning.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.