Old club before Haaland meeting: – Only positive feelings
Erling Braut Haaland (22) will receive a warm welcome when he returns to Signal Iduna Park with Manchester City on Tuesday evening.
That’s what Borussia Dortmund says– manager Edin Terzić.
– It’s just positive feelings for Erling. He was a fantastic player on the pitch, in training and in the dressing room, says the 39-year-old at a press conference on Monday afternoon.
Terzić was assistant coach and for a short period manager of Haaland during the 2.5 years in Germany. After Haaland left Dortmund for Manchester City last summer, Terzić got the job as head coach on a permanent basis.
This has led to a provisional 5th place in the Bundesliga. In the Champions League the yellow jerseys are fighting for 1st place in group G against City. When the teams met at the Etihad Stadium on 14 September, Dortmund took the lead – but on the pitch Haaland turned the game around with an artful goal.
– I look forward to Tuesday. It is a special match ahead of us, Haaland himself stated on social media on Saturday evening.
In Dortmund, Haaland made himself popular with 86 goals in 89 appearances. After a hat trick in 20 minutes in the debut away against Augsburg in January 2020, Haaland scored goals in the following matches in front of the supporters who form «Die gelbe Wand» – the yellow wall.
– I think he enjoyed his time in Dortmund, says Terzić.
– It was very good for him to be here and it was good for us to have him here. But now he is a player for City, he has a different kit and tomorrow we have to stop him from scoring, says the Dortmund manager.
After four rounds in Group G, City have 10 points. Dortmund follows in 2nd place with seven points. Spanish Sevilla and Danish FC Copenhagen both have two points.
The starting point means that City are already through to the play-offs, while Dortmund are also in a strong position. The Germans are still not guaranteed promotion, which means that they must be tougher in the last two matches.
At the same time, Dortmund has the opportunity to take 1st place in the group, something that will give them an easier journey in the round of 8. In order to win against City, the sister chance Gregor Kobel (24) knows that it will be important to deny Haaland net knowledge at the Norwegian’s old home arena.
– These are the types of challenges you want as a keeper. In training, he was always ready to compete with me. We had a good time together and I expected a good match tomorrow. Erling is an excellent guy and a great player. It was a very emotional farewell for him here. But we have to stop him tomorrow, says the Swiss.
As well as being top scorer in the Premier League with 17 goals in 11 matches, Haaland is also top scorer in the Champions League with five nets in three appearances so far this season.
Kick-off in Germany is at 21:00 on Tuesday evening. The match will be shown by TV 2.