Borussia Dortmund coach Niko Kovac mentioned a date within the Club World Cup quarter-finals in opposition to Real Madrid was just a bonus for his overperforming staff, who held off a second-half comeback from Monterrey to win 2-1 within the spherical of 16 on Tuesday.
Two objectives from Serhou Guirassy put Dortmund nicely on prime at halftime and Kovac was happy with how exhausting they battled after their Mexican opponents stormed again within the second half.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
Although Dortmund misplaced 2-0 to Real within the 2024 Champions League last, they’ve skilled one thing of a revival since Kovac took over from Nuri Sahin in February.
They earned a spot in subsequent season’s Champions League with a victory over Kiel of their final match of the Bundesliga season and have continued to enhance on the Club World Cup.
Kovac got here out on prime in May when he pitted his wits in opposition to new Real coach Xabi Alonso when the Spaniard was in cost at Bayer Leverkusen.
The Croatian could be downplaying their ambitions of going additional however Real can be clever to take their problem severely, particularly if they will replicate Tuesday’s first-half efficiency.
Dortmund coach Niko Kovac mentioned, “We are happy. I think we overperformed. We passed the group stage. This is now on top. This is a bonus for us, and now playing against the biggest team and biggest club in the world is a good challenge.”
“I think that for us, Borussia Dortmund, and also for German football as a whole, this is a big, big deal.”
Dortmund coach Niko Kovac: “We know (Xabi Alonso) very well. So he worked two and a half years in Germany, and he did a fantastic job.
“Now he is implementing all the things he had in Leverkusen at Real Madrid. So we’re anticipating the identical what we had in Leverkusen, solely with completely different gamers.
“We’re looking forward to it but you have to play football for 90 minutes, and if we put everything onto the pitch, same performance as we saw today, I think that we will have a good chance.”
