Juve wanted Marc-Oliver Kempf – but Dortmund stepped in | OneFootball

After four minutes, Marc-Oliver Kempf had his big moment. A cross from his teammate Nico Paz (21) got longer and longer. The 30-year-old central defender ran in at the far post and pushed the ball into the net from a few meters away. Como 1907 led 1-0 against Juventus Turin.

Kempf & Co. had two more reasons to celebrate on Sunday afternoon (October 19). First, the outstanding Paz scored the second goal for the Biancoblù after 79 minutes. When the final whistle blew with the club from Lake Como still leading 2-0, the joy was particularly great. In the Serie A standings, the Lombards overtook the record champions.

For Kempf, the visit of the "Old Lady" was a very special stopover. The German almost ended up at Juve himself. According to Gazzetta dello Sport, the reason there was no engagement in Turin was not least due to Borussia Dortmund.

The defender enjoyed much of his football training at Eintracht Frankfurt. The native Hessian wore the SGE jersey until 2014, where he played the first of his 153 Bundesliga games to date. Kempf then moved to SC Freiburg, later to VfB Stuttgart and Hertha BSC. In the summer of 2024, he moved on to Como.

Zorc gets involved

Before Kempf's engagement in Breisgau, scouts from Juventus Turin had noticed the 1.86-meter man. They invited the player and his parents to visit the club's facilities. The transfer seemed to be a done deal, with a five-year contract negotiated. A transfer fee of 1.5 million euros was on the table.

But then Michael Zorc (63) got involved. According to the report, the Dortmund sporting director knew of Kempf's preference for BVB and urged him to reject the Bianconeri's offer. He also hinted at the possibility of bringing the young defender to the Black and Yellows.

Kempf turned down Juve – but also didn't move to Dortmund. Instead, he matured in Freiburg into an established Bundesliga professional, who moved over the Alps just over a year ago. In Como, the now 30-year-old defender became a regular player, having already appeared 38 times in Serie A. He has scored two goals – the latest ironically against the Black and Whites.

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