The stadium was already empty. After the 1-0 win against Chelsea, the 80,000 fans were already on their way home when Marco Reus stepped onto the lawn of the Dortmund Arena. The BVB captain was on the bench for 90 minutes in the round of 16 first leg against Chelsea. After the win, the assistant coaches asked the reservists for sprint training, including Mats Hummels and Reus.
While BVB coach Edin Terzic gave an interview on the sidelines, Reus worked an extra shift. “I’m so sorry for him. But it’s not just about Marco Reus. But we had other guys who weren’t substituted on,” said Terzic.
The coach gave preference to the in-form Karim Adeyemi and Julian Brandt on offense. “We wanted the center to be a bit more stable at the beginning,” explained Terzic before the game and predicted that Dortmund’s “Capitano” could “play a very important role” in the evening.
It should be different. Terzic brought on Anthony Modeste, Julian Ryerson and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, and he left Reus on the bench for 90 minutes. “He has to respect it, but not accept it. In training and in the next game he can show that he doesn’t accept it,” said Terzic.
Always thrown off track by injuries, Reus has had a mixed season so far. The 33-year-old has only scored two goals in the Bundesliga so far. After the World Cup break, Reus has not yet played the full distance. Terzic changed his captain against Bremen and Freiburg, and brought him on in the second half of the cup against Bochum. There he scored the 2-1 winning goal.
In addition to Reus, Hummels also completed the sprint training after the win against Chelsea. “Mats doesn’t feel like doing that either,” said Terzic, but praised the attitude of his players: “The guys on the bench were excited the whole time and cheered on the team. You can tell that everyone is there and wants to.”
