On August 29, local time, after defeating Hamburg, Dortmund head coach Edin Kovac attended a press conference.

On the match

Kovac: "I thought we played a very, very good first half today. Ultimately, it's always like this: when one team plays very well and the other doesn't meet expectations, the match ends up this way. I think we should have led 2-0 at halftime; our performance was truly excellent. In the second half, I agree with the opposing coach. Hamburg clearly came out stronger and with more energy. We made too many easy mistakes and couldn't maintain the control we had in the first half."

"Of course, Konstantelias's injury also occurred, which certainly affected us to some extent. Because everyone saw how important he is, especially in the first half—he played a really crucial role. So it was really a turning point. Nevertheless, I'm satisfied with our performance for most of the match today. It's certainly pleasing to advance to the next round with this win."

You just mentioned many positive things today, but I want to start with that injury—it was awful. Do you have any updates? From what we saw on the pitch, it looked like some knee examinations were being done. What's your initial assessment of the situation?

Kovac: "It appears the doctors examined him, and the situation doesn't look good. We'll do an MRI tomorrow. At the moment, we believe it could be a serious knee injury. So this is very unfortunate. If it's ultimately confirmed as a torn anterior cruciate ligament, then we paid a very high price for this win."

You mentioned in an earlier interview that you saw Inacio leave the pitch in tears. Now, how will you help a young player like that recover and get back? How will you show him that you still trust him?

Kovac: "Of course, I spoke with him. He's very disappointed, which is completely understandable. Because if a player has to leave the pitch after about two and a half to three minutes and had high expectations for himself, and then receives his first red card in his professional football career, it's completely natural for an Italian to be very emotional, very sad, and even cry. I comforted him. I will continue to comfort him and help him recover. It's part of football. He didn't do it intentionally, but he will learn from this and mature. I believe that in similar situations in the future, he will certainly handle things differently."

If Konstantelias's injury is ultimately confirmed as a torn anterior cruciate ligament, do you think your attack will still be strong enough to cope with such a long-term absence? My second question is about Daniel Svensson. After Bensebaini's injury, why was he your most natural choice? How is Bensebaini doing now? There are still a few days until Tuesday; does he have a chance to play?

Kovac: "With Svensson, I chose him because he's a left-footed player. Otherwise, we'd have three right-footed players, which would make organizing attacks and building play from the back slightly more difficult. And he's also played this position for the national team, specifically this position. So for me, there's absolutely no risk in having Svensson play there. You just tell Svensson: 'Do this.' And he does it immediately. In fact, you don't even need to say much; you just look at him, and he immediately knows what to do. He's a very intelligent young player who can execute instructions immediately. That makes me very happy. I think he did very well today. Of course, after the substitution, he moved back to his original position."

"As for Bensebaini, he was hit by a teammate in the liver area. His ribs aren't broken, but he has some bruising. So running is very painful for him. He couldn't participate in training today, and he's suspended for the German Cup. So I hope he can return for the next match against Hoffenheim. Therefore, we really need to carefully consider other possible options. Whether we'll take action, we don't know yet. But at least we'll discuss it—that's for certain. Whether we'll ultimately make a decision in that direction remains to be seen."

What did you say to Konstantelias when he was substituted? It seemed like you needed to help him recover immediately.

Kovac: "First I asked him how he felt and what happened, because from our distance outside the pitch, we couldn't really see all the details clearly. He himself said he heard a 'crack'. After the match, in the dressing room, I comforted him too. He was very disappointed. His family came especially to watch today's match. As a result, he scored a goal, but then got injured. You can imagine, that's really a huge emotional rollercoaster."

"Now, for this young man, it's certainly a low point. But it's not just a low point for him; it's for our entire team. And I think it's also for our fans. Because what the fans saw from him today really gives them hope for the future. So if tomorrow's test ultimately confirms this, we'll certainly be very sad today. But even so, we'll help him recover as quickly as possible and come back stronger."

You were very dominant in the first half, and in my opinion, this also relates to your very well-coordinated pressing. Compared to last season, I feel you've taken another step forward in this regard. Do you feel that way? If so, where do you think this improvement mainly comes from?

Kovac: "Actually, last year, and even in my first season here, we had many moments of very good pressing and created goals through pressing. This has to be continuously demanded from the players. Because in the second half today, Hamburg did much better in this regard, and we didn't have many pressing moments."

"Of course, dominance doesn't just mean having an advantage when you have the ball. You can also show your dominance through pressing the opponent. When you press high, when you press the opponent, when you force them into duels, when you immediately counter-press after losing the ball, preventing the opponent from playing smoothly past your first pressing line—that's also a form of dominance."

"We did very well in this regard in the first half. Ultimately, it all comes down to passion, intensity, and duels. Just yesterday – and of course, the players should have seen this today as well – when you mark one-on-one, when you battle one-on-one across the pitch, you have to be in the right place at the right time. That's football. Football is a contact sport, and football is also a competitive sport. And we really did very well in this regard in the first half. This should also be our requirement, or rather the standard we must always maintain."

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