Surprise: BVB legend hits out at Schlotterbeck | OneFootball

BVB legend Jürgen Kohler gives defensive leader Nico Schlotterbeck concrete tips for his further development. He also assesses other top German defenders.

Jürgen Kohler, 1990 World Cup winner and former BVB legend, has taken a close look at the current German central defenders, focusing especially on Borussia Dortmund’s Nico Schlotterbeck. Kohler praises the 25-year-old’s natural aggressiveness but still sees room for improvement: “Nico Schlotterbeck has this natural aggressiveness, but sometimes he wants too much and causes free kicks or gets booked. He needs to work on these nuances,” Kohler told Kicker.

Other DFB defenders are not overlooked either: “Jonathan Tah also has good quality, but I don’t see him at the top level,” said Kohler about the FC Bayern Munich center-back. Kohler also rates Antonio Rüdiger from Real Madrid highly, but warns: “Unfortunately, he can be taken out of the game too quickly too often.” Internationally, the former defender highlights Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk: “Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk is a brilliant player and an outstanding personality.”

BVB legend Kohler gives Schlotterbeck important tips

Kohler, who celebrates his 60th birthday today, looks back on an extraordinary career. He played 105 international matches for Germany, became World Champion in 1990, won the European Championship in 1996 (where he suffered a serious injury in the opening match), won the Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup with Borussia Dortmund, and became German champion with both Dortmund and Bayern. In Italy, he won the UEFA Cup with Juventus Turin. Altogether, he played 250 matches for BVB and previously played for clubs including SV Waldhof Mannheim and 1. FC Köln. Today, he coaches the U17 team of Bonner SC.

Regarding the current DFB situation, Kohler believes that the rocky start to World Cup qualification should not be overestimated: “To be fair, it must be said that important players were missing in the 0:2 loss in Slovakia. The opponent had a good day, the German team did not. You know, that happened to us sometimes in the past as well. I am convinced that we will win the games now.” He emphasizes that first place in the group is a must.

Kohler also views national coach Julian Nagelsmann’s bold title announcement for the 2026 World Cup positively: “I think it’s good. If you look at the last two games, it sounds presumptuous, but I am convinced that the team can perform when everyone is on board.”

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