Ricken reveals all: How BVB plan to stop City striker Haaland | OneFootball

Before the Champions League clash against Manchester City, BVB boss Lars Ricken talks about the plan to face Erling Haaland. The sporting director shows respect—but also self-confidence.

Borussia Dortmund is facing a real test: On Wednesday evening (9 p.m.) BVB will meet Manchester City in the Champions League—and thus their former goal scorer Erling Haaland. Sporting CEO Lars Ricken explained before departing for England how the club intends to stop the top striker.

“That’s difficult,” admitted the 49-year-old. “First of all, we’re happy to meet players like him, who used to play for BVB and whom we also appreciate as people. What he’s accomplishing there is truly exceptional—not just this season, but also in recent years. It’s almost perfection.” Haaland is “the locomotive” in Pep Guardiola’s star ensemble, said Ricken. “He drives this team, and of course it would help if we could take him out of the game. But there’s no guarantee of that.”

Despite the great challenge, BVB looks confidently ahead to the duel with the English champions. “We’re coming off a perfect week with three wins, and now we’ve won four in a row,” said Ricken. This streak has given the team “security and self-confidence”—exactly what’s needed against City.

Before the City duel: BVB relies on strong defense against Haaland

The sporting director also sees the defense as a major asset. “We’ve now kept six clean sheets in the Bundesliga, which is truly a top European figure,” Ricken emphasized. The central defenders in particular are supposed to make life difficult for Haaland. One of them: Nico Schlotterbeck, who is back in the squad after a long injury break. When asked if the defensive leader was fit for 90 minutes, Ricken replied succinctly: “If he’s in the squad, you can count on it.”

Despite the respect shown to Erling Haaland, the BVB boss remained optimistic: “With Serhou Guirassy, we also have a striker who was a top scorer in the Champions League last year. I think we have no reason to hide.”

Lars Ricken clearly stated the goal for the match in Manchester: “We want to stay in the top group of the Champions League table. Accordingly, the message is clear: We are ready to take something from there.”

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