‘Half-blind’ BVB hero Kobel reveals his penalty secret | OneFootball

Gregor Kobel becomes the “half-blind” matchwinner in the cup duel against Frankfurt. The BVB keeper reveals why he relied entirely on his instincts during the penalty shootout.

Borussia Dortmund is through to the round of 16 in the DFB-Pokal – and that’s thanks above all to Gregor Kobel. The BVB goalkeeper became the celebrated hero in the thrilling second-round clash in Frankfurt after saving the decisive penalty from Farès Chaibi in the shootout. Remarkably, Kobel was surprisingly unprepared – and that was exactly his recipe for success.

“I’m not convinced how decisive that really is,” the Swiss keeper explained after the 4-2 win in the penalty shootout. In the video analysis, he had only seen two of the penalty takers, “so I went into the shootout half-blind.” A conscious decision, as he emphasized: He preferred to rely on his instincts rather than on numbers and data. “At the end of the day, it doesn’t help you if you watch videos and then they shoot to the other corner,” Kobel said with a grin.

Even during regular time and extra time, the 27-year-old had already made several strong saves. In the penalty shootout, he truly surpassed himself – and did so without a cheat sheet. “Normally I should do it, but there weren’t many videos of the penalty takers, so it was more of a freestyle today,” he revealed in a TV interview.

BVB hero Kobel dreams of winning the DFB-Pokal

Despite his heroics, the matchwinner remained humble. “I don’t like to talk about myself,” said Kobel. Instead, he praised the team’s collective performance: “It was a tough match and our penalty takers did an extremely good job.”

Sporting director Lars Ricken also had words of praise: “Frankfurt had several chances. That’s when you need a good goalkeeper. And then he saves the decisive penalty. Special praise and a big compliment to him, but also to the whole team.”

The victory, Ricken added, could “be the spark for the upcoming games.” Gregor Kobel himself is also hoping for a lasting effect. “That was an awesome evening and it felt like more,” he said. And his goal is clear: “Berlin is the goal every year. It’s a dream to win the cup with such an awesome club.”

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