Niko Kovac speaks on Borussia Dortmund’s Serhou Guirassy penalty-taking controversy | OneFootball

A huge talking point emerging from Borussia Dortmund’s insane 4-4 Champions League draw with Juventus continues to gain traction across the German press world on Wednesday. Star Bundesliga striker Serhou Guirassy had a slight altercation with his BVB teammates in the 85th-minute over who should take a penalty. Kicker and others have confirmed that Guirassy was not meant to serve as the squad’s penalty taker.

Guirassy immediately grabbed the ball when a handball penalty was awarded. Julian Brandt, Karim Adeyemi, and eventual penalty taker Ramy Bensebaini were among those sternly confronting Guirassy in an attempt to convince the striker to give the ball back. Speaking to Amazon Prime Video after the match, BVB head coach Niko Kovac verified that Guirassy was not meant to take the kick.

“[The matter of the penalty taker] was clearly defined,” Kovac told Prime. “I understand that Serhou wanted to take the chance and let’s not go making a mountain out of a molehill. Serhou [who did celebrate with his teammates after Bensebaini scored] is a great guy and a team player.“

The obvious reason that Kovac elevated Bensebaini above Guirassy in the penalty pecking order concerns the fact that Guirassy missed his most recent take in a Bundesliga draw with FC St. Pauli. Altogether, Guirassy has missed three times from the spot for BVB. Previous failed conversions came against Hoffenheim in the league and Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League last spring.

Bensebaini, on the other hand, had never taken a penalty for Dortmund prior to yesterday evening. The 30-year-old nevertheless has a spotless 11 for 11 record for both his previous Bundesliga club of Borussia Mönchengladbach and the Algerian national team.

Dortmund’s regular penalty taker, captain Emré Can, has amassed a perfect 13 for 13 record for club as well. Kovac remains the type of coach who wishes to structure this hierarchy himself. One of Dortmund’s previous head coach’s famously didn’t interfere in such matters and it once got dicey.

Those Bundesliga reporters watching events unfold yesterday evening were immediately reminded of a scene during the 18th matchday of the 2023/24 campaign. Dortmund were awarded a penalty against Köln in a late January league fixture.

January transfer loanee Jadon Sancho, who drew the penalty, had a light spat with BVB striker Niclas Füllkrug over who should take the 58th-minute spot kick. Afterwards, Füllkrug explained that the players had come up with their own rotation scheme in which Füllkrug took every other penalty.

Füllkrug took and converted the 2-0 on that day.

GGFN | Peter Weis