Terzic aiming to pull off Champions League shock win as Dortmund face Real Madrid at Wembley
28/05/2024
BVB Training Centre, Dortmund, Germany
28/05/2024
BVB Training Centre, Dortmund, Germany
Category
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SportsTranscript
00:00Welcome to our press conference on UEFA Media Day, before the Champions League final in London on Saturday for us here in Real Madrid.
00:08I welcome you here on the podium next to our head coach Edin Terzic.
00:11I also welcome all the English journalists here with us at the training ground in Dortmund.
00:15I am very happy that you are all here.
00:17From my side, there are still a few brief information to go through.
00:20We can start tomorrow. We will hold the press conference in German and English.
00:27Our interpreter Daniel Barsan will make sure that all of you understand what we are talking about.
00:32And one information for all the people who are not very often here.
00:38Please push the button on your microphone, then you are free to speak.
00:43And if I don't know your name, please state your name and your medium.
00:48Dirk Krampel for the Ruhr Nachrichten.
00:51Well, I think that the enthusiasm today is a good sign for the fact that it's about to start soon.
01:05Very soon. How excited are you?
01:09Yes, I can see it. This room here has never been as full as today.
01:16Also, I'd like to apologize for us being late, because we had many talks with many journalists.
01:23And of course, we feel it that we are approaching this final.
01:27But we said many times that this is exactly what we want to have at the end of the season.
01:35That there is such a big thing at stake, that people are interested, that we can reach such a big trophy.
01:44And that's why we're happy, that's why we're looking forward to it.
01:48But we're very much focused on what is waiting for us on Saturday.
01:52We are in a good path. The people who are watching the free practice are strong.
02:00I think the goodness that we are in a good form, that we are enthusiastic.
02:07And I think this is really important for this final.
02:10This is what makes us strong. This is what we can influence.
02:13And this is what we want to show on Saturday.
02:20Patrick Berger for Sky.
02:22Thank you Sven. Hello Edin.
02:24Edin, this morning we were able to speak with Lars Ricken, who congratulated the staff and especially you.
02:35And he said it's very strong that the team at this point of the season, at the end of the season, is really fit, is in a top form.
02:45How did you manage to get the team into this top form?
02:51And could it be an advantage also against Real Madrid, who still had the last match?
02:57Well, yes, maybe that's one of the constant things in my life as a coach.
03:04This is the third final and almost the whole squad is available.
03:12Back then, before the cup final, and also now, I am surrounded by very, very good people in the medical staff, in the athletic staff.
03:26That's why we don't communicate so much when it's about details, if someone's coming back or not.
03:34Because we know that at the end of the season, when we have to go all in, everybody needs to be available.
03:44And we managed that quite well. Is he here, Jesko? I don't know.
03:51The last time he spoke about something like that, the next day, two players had to abort practice.
03:58But normally, everybody should be there, should be able to participate in order to win this final.
04:10But speaking about the squad, there are three players missing.
04:15There are three missing, Johannes Biel and Zvaini, but the rest, happily, is very healthy.
04:31Edin, how is the preparation for this final different to the preparation for a normal match in the Bundesliga?
04:40And also, that you had this break of 14 days, and also, is there a difference in the mental and the psychological preparation?
04:54Well, in general, I'd say I never had one press conference five days prior to a match, and also two press conferences this prior to a match.
05:01So there you feel the difference.
05:03Also, the rhythm on the athletic side has not changed very much, because we had one week of break where we didn't have a match,
05:13and it's similar to, for example, in Mars, when there are breaks for the national matches.
05:22So it was a break of three or four weeks, it was only one weekend.
05:28We qualified for the final after the semi-final against Paris.
05:34We started the organization, the planning for this five hours for this period, and we thought very much about it.
05:42And we decided that we want to grab three times the same rhythm.
05:46So that's what we did the last three weeks.
05:49We kept it quite similar from intensity, from the content of training,
05:55many things that we did on the organizational side and on the athletic side.
06:00Of course, we prepared in order to play against the opponents.
06:08And then we benefited from the time to have many talks, many conversations, many one-on-one talks.
06:15So with the guys, we had good exchanges, we had good ideas.
06:22And now we are at the final steps of the preparation.
06:25But the main task was that after the Bundesliga and the Champions League,
06:33after we reached our minimum goal, there was only one question left that we had to answer.
06:42How much will it help us to be the best form of the first of June?
06:47So every decision we made in the last few weeks was under this premise.
06:54Whatever I'm doing right now, what is best for the first of June?
07:00So that was our psychological steering wheel.
07:07Real Madrid has not lost a major final for 40 years.
07:10Real Madrid didn't lose a final for 41 years.
07:14For 41 years?
07:16Why are you so optimistic?
07:18Well, I'm 41 years old.
07:20It's logical.
07:22The most important thing for me is that we talked about it again in the coaching team today.
07:27Our goal was not to qualify for the final, but to win the Champions League.
07:35And if you want to win the Champions League, you have to beat the champions.
07:39And now the absolute champion is waiting for us.
07:43If you want to speak this video game jargon, it's the perfect end boss.
07:49They had this experience 17 times, 14 times they won it already.
07:55In the last eight years, they were five years in the final.
08:01So all the numbers, all the figures are speaking for real.
08:05But none of that counts now.
08:08My approach before the elimination games was always we concentrate on this one match.
08:15We're going to Madrid now, we're going to PSV, we're going to PSG.
08:20And we were always talking about this one match.
08:23So this final is also only one match.
08:27And I'm very much convinced that everything is possible in one match.
08:31And if someone showed that you can do many things in one match, then it's us.
08:36We showed it many times in this competition.
08:39And I think it's also time that this series is coming to an end.
08:45The series of Real Madrid with all the finals they won.
08:49And hopefully we can stop this series.
08:52Carlo Ancelotti said yesterday that the day of the final he gets nervous and has some fear of the match.
08:59I don't know if you feel the same or what are your feelings right now?
09:04First of all, I have so much respect for Carlo Ancelotti that I would never say that he's wrong.
09:12First of all, I have so much respect for Carlo Ancelotti that I would never say that he's wrong.
09:19The thing is like, of course, building up to the game.
09:24So 10 days ago it was different than now 5 days ago.
09:27But we knew that.
09:29For me it's absolutely no problem to be nervous.
09:31Because if I start to become nervous, I do my best to prepare myself to avoid situations that I'm not in control.
09:40If you're nervous, it's no problem.
09:42If you're nervous and alone, it can be problematic.
09:45But I'm not alone.
09:46I have a great group of coaches around me.
09:49And they give me so much belief and so much trust.
09:52This is what we do.
09:53As soon as somebody starts to think about maybe some things that are not important, we are there for him.
09:58To bring him back on track.
10:00I think this is very special to hear from such an experienced coach who has been so successful in his career.
10:07Especially by winning and lifting the Champions League trophy.
10:13But he says that he's nervous.
10:15And that shows me that I'm on a good way.
10:18But the most important thing is not to be nervous or to be full of joy.
10:23As a head coach, the most important thing is that you have the feeling that you can prepare yourself in the best way possible.
10:30And this is what I really feel really good.
10:32I feel the energy in the group.
10:34I feel the energy in every session.
10:36And that's the best feeling that I have over the last few weeks.
10:41And the little man in the back.
10:44Hello Edin.
10:45You probably prepared a lot for the opponents squad.
10:56But was there something that surprised you?
11:00Yes, there are many things.
11:02I don't want to go into too much detail.
11:04But I can say it's something different when you watch Real Madrid on TV.
11:14Or if you analyze an opponent, you're in the stadium.
11:21Or you watch the scouting videos, the scouting clips.
11:26And you see how they do it extremely well.
11:30I just think that the qualities are exceptionally good.
11:34And they are getting better and better.
11:36They managed to do a complete generational change without losing anyone here.
11:46Who would have thought that after Benzema or Ronaldo, with the club again managed to compensate everything with new recruits.
11:55And that they are successful again.
11:58You have the feeling that they are safe for the next 10 years.
12:02And still we have discovered one or the other.
12:07I don't know how they would like to defend that.
12:11If they have to take this detour, because we get this and that well closed.
12:15Maybe they don't feel very comfortable with that.
12:17But I don't know how many teams have tried that this season.
12:21And I think they have lost two games in all competitions this season.
12:26And I think in all of the season they only could do two defeats, none in the Champions League.
12:32And the cup they lost against Atletico Madrid against whom we also played and won.
12:39So of course there are things where we have to pay attention, where we have to be very serious.
12:46But there's also some things where they have to pay attention.
12:51Hi, Charlie White from the Sun.
12:54I wanted to ask you about Jadon Sancho.
12:58He's in very good shape since he's been here.
13:01Does he have a point to prove on Saturday that he's just been left out of the England squad?
13:05And he's going to be back when the last time he missed the penalty in the final of the Eurofinal.
13:11So do you think that will draw anything?
13:14I think that Jadon has to prove something, that he wants to win the Champions League trophy with us.
13:21I think that you can see that he's very happy with us, with the group.
13:27To be honest, I didn't speak to him about the English national team.
13:31This is one of his personal targets and I'm quite sure that he would love to be involved in the national team.
13:39And from my point of view I also think that he deserves to be involved with the national team of England.
13:46But he made a decision a couple of years ago to leave us because he wants to be very successful in his career.
13:55And he thought that this step would help him and support him to win the Champions League trophy.
14:00And now he's back and he's as close as possible to win it.
14:05And he's back with us and as I said, we have so many personal stories in our dressing room.
14:12But the most important thing is that we have our own story.
14:15We have a story with ups and downs during the whole season.
14:17We have a story with ups and downs of the last years.
14:20We are one of the teams that is selling players by the end of the season.
14:24We are a team that builds up a team to compete every year.
14:28But now we are there and we are facing teams that are built to win the Champions League.
14:34We are facing teams that are on a mission to win the Champions League.
14:39And if you are on a mission, you can complete a mission or you can fail.
14:42But we are there to fulfill a dream and this is our target.
14:46And we have fulfilled a dream or we're going to fight for it.
14:48That's the difference between a dream and a mission.
14:50And this is what I feel with Jadon.
14:52He wants to fulfill his dream to win the Champions League trophy.
14:56And hopefully we can give him the support to reach that because we know that he's going to try his absolutely best on Saturday.
15:04Was he full in the middle, the colleague?
15:06Just off that, we were speaking to Emre Can earlier and he was saying how him and Jadon both are not in the national team at the moment.
15:15We were surprised by that decision. Can you see that hunger in the national team at the moment?
15:21Look, I'm the wrong one to ask this kind of questions because I'm not the national team coach of Germany and not the national team coach of England.
15:28I'm the coach of BVB.
15:30I'm the national team coach of England or Germany.
15:34I'm the coach of BVB and I'm happy that both are here, that both are fit, that both want to win the Champions League.
15:40As I said, our point as coaches working for a club is not only to fulfill the targets and the goals that we set as a team, that the board and the clubs, the supporters set for us as a team.
15:55We are also here to reach personal targets and personal achievements.
15:59Is it to be part of the national team? Is it to win an individual award?
16:04Is it something that we want to deliver as well?
16:06But what we can do is only perform on the highest level.
16:10And I think both Emre and also Jadon, but not only them, they performed on the highest level, especially you.
16:18And there is one more game left and it's the biggest game in European club competition.
16:25And this is waiting for us and we are sure that we are ready to go for it.
16:29And of course we can talk now about the players that are not involved with the national team.
16:34And this is the part that I don't like talking to journalists because they will not always ask me about players that are not nominated.
16:44But we also have Schlotterbeck or Niklas Fühlkrug who are part of the national team.
16:50We have Ian Martsen who didn't make it to the Dutch national team.
16:59And the same goes for Donny Malen.
17:01So for me as a coach, I am not responsible only for one player, but for a whole group, for a whole squad.
17:09And in every squad there are individuals who have individual goals.
17:15But the main goal is to reach all these goals as a team.
17:20And I think this is also much easier than the individual goals.
17:24So this is my answer. I am a club coach, not a national coach.
17:33Felix Hans?
17:35How big and how important will it be this stage to not get distracted by this huge stage on Saturday?
17:52And maybe is this the biggest difference to Real Madrid that they know this big stage quite well?
17:58Well, difference always sounds like advantage and disadvantage.
18:03Difference, yes. Advantage, disadvantage, I don't know.
18:07We were already talking about it prior to the second leg against PSG.
18:13Don't play the occasion, play the game.
18:21So it's not about the psychological, the mental distraction.
18:26It's all about the game. We are there to play this game.
18:32Of course, if you want to win the trophy, you have to play this final, you have to win this final.
18:37So we are not content to be only a participant in this final.
18:40We want to invest everything, we want to give it everything to bring back the trophy to Dortmund.
18:47It's way too much time since it has been a year.
18:50We haven't been this close since 11 years.
18:54But back then the conditions were quite different.
18:58This is my personal opinion.
19:00Not only when we had the big teams, but also the last time we were in the final,
19:05there were also those superpowers.
19:09In 1997 we had Juventus Turin, Milan, Aldo, big teams.
19:14Then there was Barcelona.
19:16In 2013 there were those superpowers also.
19:19But there wasn't this TV board hosting contract with all those investors who could buy a team for over a billion euros.
19:28So I think this situation in which we are now, we shouldn't underestimate it.
19:35Because I don't see it coming back that often in the future.
19:40But the most important thing is that you don't analyze too much this situation.
19:45And I think we have shown enough in the last year, what we have achieved,
19:51to deserve this final.
19:53And now it's about taking the last step.
19:55And I feel the great desire to show it on Saturday.
20:02In the back in the middle.
20:06Our story is also part of this negative experience of the last season.
20:12Part of your story is also this negative situation last year on the last match day,
20:19where you lost the championship.
20:21How much did you consider the experience from last year now for this match?
20:26Did you change something in your preparation?
20:29No, I don't think you can compare it one to one.
20:32Of course you can say it has a similar character, a final character.
20:36But it was totally different.
20:38I can say it's kind of similar, because there is this character of a final back then.
20:44We were leader of the championship.
20:47We left Augsburg first and we had five days to prepare this match.
20:52It was at home.
20:54We were favorites, 100% sure.
20:58So I don't think it's really comparable to what awaits us the final day.
21:08I think back then, I don't know if you were there, but back then I already said I would have rather missed this chapter in my life.
21:18But I also said from now on, this day is part of the success in the future.
21:27This day we lived it, we experienced it.
21:30It wasn't the nicest day of my life.
21:33But what I took from it, 366 days ago, because yesterday it was the 27th of May.
21:41This day is part of us, part of me.
21:44But life goes on.
21:47Life is not a beach, life is a mountain.
21:50This was the best proof for it.
21:53The things we missed last year, not just minutes, but hours after the game, the things our fans sang to support us, to encourage us last year.
22:09Now, one year later, they're going with us to London and hopefully we have something to celebrate.
22:15You say life is not a beach, it's a mountain.
22:17Patrick Berger, strong.
22:19Life is a beach, not a mountain.
22:22I didn't hear anything, but good.
22:25And of course, Beachan, Jakubi.
22:29Okay, this is a wordplay gag.
22:31One of the journalists, his surname is Beachan, so Beach.
22:36And the other one is something with mountain in German.
22:40Edin, I'd like to speak about Marco.
22:43He's one of the biggest bosses.
22:46Maybe you could say a few words about his career.
22:50And also, of course, you won't have us, but maybe you could give us a hint.
22:56Will he get some minutes in this final?
23:00Do you consider the end of his career or do you have to take hard decisions?
23:07Well, I think during the last few weeks, I showed many, many times my appreciation for Marco.
23:15Marco has been 12 years a professional here at Borussia Dortmund.
23:20And for myself, I consider myself really happy that half of this time I was by his side.
23:31First of all, as an assistant coach and then as a head coach.
23:35I worked six years with him.
23:38The only thing I regret was that it was his last six years, not the first six years with him.
23:44That's the only payday if you want.
23:47But when you see how Marco was celebrated during the last few weeks, how much love he received,
23:54then you can see how many things he did right and well here.
24:00But at the end, it's like in every relationship, you remember most of the times how it started and how it ended.
24:08But the most important thing is what was in between.
24:11And there are so many light moments, so many great moments, but also hurtful moments.
24:17For example, the last season end or all his injuries.
24:21But I think that Marco showed to come back here next Saturday in the final.
24:28I think the main thing is that he hasn't finished yet.
24:31He wants to experience an extraordinary, incredible match with an incredible team.
24:42He kind of closed the circle also because his first season at Borussia Dortmund.
24:50He was at this match at Wembley 11 years ago.
24:55And of course, I won't tell you who will be in the starting XI tomorrow.
25:04It wouldn't be fair.
25:06So towards all the other players, because the final is only taking place in five days.
25:11But what I can say is they need Marco.
25:13We need Marco in his qualities.
25:16And he showed it many times in decisive moments.
25:22Like we need any player, every player, we especially need Marco.
25:27Also because of his experience, he already played on this stage.
25:31And we could always see how many things he gives to our squad.
25:41For such an important match, how do you address the players before the match?
25:48With the goal to find the right words, whether they are loud, whether they are in German or English.
25:54Again, the preparation for this match doesn't take place on Tuesday, because we play on Saturday.
26:01It takes place during the season and we have experienced so much.
26:04There is always the possibility to take a lot of reference to what we have already experienced.
26:08What we want to show them, what we should prevent.
26:12I think the right words will be given to us not only on Saturday before the match,
26:18but it is even more important to find the right words during the half-time break.
26:25But I am not alone in this.
26:28I try to involve a lot of people in the last weeks and weeks.
26:36I also did that during the last months and weeks.
26:40Sometimes it was a player, sometimes it was one from my staff.
26:45The most important thing is, as I said before, this most important match.
26:53We already played it 60 times this year.
26:56Not the Champions League final, but always the next match,
27:00when you have a look at all the matches in the Bundesliga,
27:03in the club, all the friendlies.
27:06We had 60 important matches.
27:09Now it's all about this next match.
27:14And it's all about to focus on that,
27:18and then I am sure we will find the right and precise words at that moment.
27:23How special, how particular is this game for you on a personal basis?
27:36Ten years ago, you were still coaching the U17s.
27:42No, 2013 I was even assistant coach of the U17s.
27:47Yes, of course, I mentioned it a couple of times.
27:52Everybody has their individual story, their individual goals,
27:56so I am part of that.
27:58I have my individual story, why I am sitting here today.
28:01But I don't want to focus too much on that.
28:04It's more about our journey together.
28:08My journey 2013 was as a fan.
28:12I was with the fans, with the supporters in their coach,
28:19not with the team back then.
28:21But the most important now is that we have a common goal, a common final.
28:27And how important this is, maybe we can talk about it later on,
28:33when it's not that relevant anymore.
28:35But at the moment, I am only thinking about the preparations for Saturday.
28:40Last two questions.
28:48So, match day is coming, or the evening on match day minus one.
28:53Things are getting serious.
28:55You're planning the formation, the squad, the starting eleven,
29:01maybe some more tactical reflections.
29:05Are you someone who thinks more with his belly,
29:12or because of the importance of this match, do you tend to overthink,
29:17to think too much?
29:18There are examples of big coaches who were overthinking the strategy
29:24and the tactics because of the importance of a match.
29:27Yeah, I can only play the game, not the occasion.
29:31Also counts for me, my goal won't be to try new things
29:37or have the impression to overthink everything.
29:42No, find out from those experiences that we made this season,
29:46which is the perfect experience for this task,
29:50which team did it on a similar approach as Real Madrid,
29:56maybe not on the same level,
29:58which team is similar to Real in this part or in that area.
30:05So, when you speak about a match in this situation,
30:12you need to have your usual approaches.
30:17So, we did everything like we prepare every away match.
30:24We go to London one day before the match,
30:27we have a little practice in the stadium and so on and so on.
30:32We won't change anything.
30:34Will it be enough? I can't give you the answer.
30:37Last year, before the last match against Mainz,
30:41I had a similar approach before the cup final against Leipzig
30:46and we had two different results.
30:48So, there's no perfect recipe, but the most important thing is
30:52that we don't overthink at what's at stake,
30:56but we are thinking about this match, this game,
31:00and that's what we're taking care of.
31:03We collected enough data, enough information for this match
31:08and when I see the enthusiasm of the guys every day at practice
31:13and when I see that they go home after practice,
31:18everybody asks themselves the question,
31:20how do I get the best form of my life for this match?
31:23I'm convinced that we'll have a very good match.
31:27My question is a little bit the same.
31:30We talked about the importance of this match
31:33and how particular, how extraordinary it is,
31:36also with those two press conferences.
31:39I'd like to know the formation.
31:41Do you have it already in your mind or is it a process,
31:44a development process?
31:46Of course, the idea is already set here.
31:50Then it's all about what do we already share with the team
31:56or maybe at a later point, the formation.
32:01We still have three practice sessions left
32:04so everybody can prove themselves.
32:07Everybody can prove themselves for the starting eleven
32:10before the bench.
32:12But nonetheless, we know that the constitutions on Saturday,
32:17we need to make an impact.
32:20Because the starting eleven won't be enough.
32:23We know that we need to give it everything in this last match.
32:26We know that there will be so many difficult situations
32:29on the offense and the defense
32:32that we need the whole quality that we have in our squad
32:37because we only have the possibility,
32:40we only had the possibility to reach the final
32:43that we were always able to react
32:46and that's exactly what we're working on now.
32:49And that's what we're preparing the team for.
32:51There are so many games in the past
32:53that were decided by games.
32:55We experienced it ourselves, for example at the Seppal Air
32:58a few months ago in the Africa Cup
33:00or if you think back to the World Cup final 2014,
33:04there are so many games that are decided by substitutions
33:08and that's what we want to prepare for,
33:10that we not only find the perfect starting eleven
33:14but also to find the perfect answers in the offense.
33:18Thank you Edin, thanks to all of you
33:21and have a safe travel back home.
33:24Bye bye.