Kovac: Schlotterbeck Still Being Monitored; International Schedule Too Congested

On October 10 at 2:30 a.m. (CET), Borussia Dortmund will host Werder Bremen in the 5th round of the Bundesliga. Ahead of the match, Borussia Dortmund head coach Niko Kovac attended a press conference. This is the first part of the press conference.

Niko, the most pressing and undoubtedly most discussed question is: What is Nico Schlotterbeck's current situation? Can he play in Friday's match? Or do we need to wait until next week? How exactly is his injury status and recovery progress?

Hello everyone. Currently, Schlotti is undergoing individual rehabilitation training. We only started team training today—or rather, starting Tuesday—so he hasn't yet joined the team for full training. The plan is for him to participate in full team training tomorrow, and then we'll assess the situation based on his training performance to determine whether he's fit to play in Friday's match.

So to follow up, does that mean it's quite likely he could make the squad or even play on Friday?

Yes, it is indeed possible. Anyone who knows Schlotti knows he always has an extreme desire to play; he has this strong ambition. However, we'll discuss this together tomorrow, and of course, we'll consult closely with our medical team to get their professional opinion.

Hi Niko, how are the other players physically? Especially Julian Ryerson—I recall he suffered a minor knock—and are there any other players returning from international duty with injuries or minor ailments?

Yes, as Sven mentioned, this break is relatively long. But in my view, it's clearly too long, because if you have to play four matches during this period with a lot of travel, and the national team squads are actually relatively small—although Germany took a different approach this time, all other national teams only called up a limited number of players, which means our players are constantly traveling long distances.

Currently, we have two players with minor colds and fever, which of course need to be monitored to see how they develop over the weekend. Also, obviously Mathis (Albert) will only fly back from America tomorrow. Ramy Bensebaini played 30 minutes in a friendly match yesterday and is currently on his way back from Africa. Julian suffered a knock, but we're not yet certain whether he will be able to play in the weekend match. So in any case, we need to wait for tomorrow's assessment to see if playing at the weekend is possible. Additionally, Emre Can returned from Austria with minor muscle soreness.

Therefore, it can truly be said that this break, or these four consecutive international matches, is an excessive burden in my view, and this must be stated very clearly. Since I also served as a national team coach, I understand very well the responsibilities you bear in that position and the urgent need to compete for points and achieve success. However, I personally prefer the old system. Yes, this isn't about us club coaches being away for two weeks; it's because the players bear an entirely different match load and workload management. But I can also understand the national team coaches, who basically need their key players to play the full 90 minutes from start to finish, because for them, results are equally important.

Hello everyone, thank you very much. I'd like to follow up and ask about the frequency and depth of communication between you and the various national team coaches over the last two and a half weeks.

At our club, our fitness department generally maintains direct contact and coordination with their counterparts—that is, the medical and fitness teams of the national teams where our international players are. Regarding Jürgen Klopp, I personally communicate with him. All other coordination work is handled and managed by our fitness department.

Niko, you just mentioned that as a former national team coach, you fully understand this situation. However, Greek national team coach Jovanovic publicly stated that he would not make concessions or special arrangements regarding Karetsas. The fact is that in the previous match, he...

Did he really say that?

Yes, he said that at the press conference, but I don't want to dwell too much on that statement itself. I want to ask: to what extent is this a difficult balancing act? What steps have you taken to manage this excessive load for young talent who are just recovering from injury and reintegrating with the team like him? Also, I have a follow-up question: Maximilian Beier is one of the few players who remained at the club. In your view, how has he used this break?

Yes, regarding your first question, as I said before, I can only state: I'm very aware of how high expectations are for a national team coach. No matter which country you coach, public and media expectations are very high, so it's completely understandable that a coach naturally wants to field his best players.

As for Konstantinos, his total playing time for the national team was indeed somewhat more than we expected, and I think everyone saw that. He's also one of the players currently experiencing cold symptoms. The high load of continuous matches combined with long-distance travel certainly makes him very fatigued, and we'll monitor his condition over the weekend. However, communication between both sides has always been there, no doubt about it.

Regarding Maxi, yes, Maxi has used this time very well. In the first week of the break, we gave him a vacation, just as we did with Sabitzer, along with a very systematic and standardized individual running plan. In the second week, since only they remained with the first team, we arranged for them to participate in technical football training with the reserve team, so the players could also work with the ball and train with it. Then on Tuesday, the entire team came back together for training, so he and Sabitzer are both in very good health and condition, fully capable of competing for a place in the starting lineup this weekend.

Diterjemahkan oleh AI.

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