'We have a big dream': Edin Terzic confident ahead of semi-final second leg
07/05/2024 06:58
Borussia Dortmund head coach Edin Terzic has called on his team to banish the memories of their painful group stage defeat to Paris Saint-Germain (2-0) at the Parc des Princes.
The two teams have faced each other three times so far this season, with a 1-1 draw in Dortmund in the groups followed by a comfortable 2-0 win for Luis Enrique’s side in France. Last week, Die Schwarzgelbe edged the first leg of their semi-final, winning 1-0 at Signal Iduna Park thanks to Niclas Fullkrug’s neat first-half finish.
The two teams last faced each other in the knockout stages back in 2020, PSG managing to overturn a 2-1 first leg deficit to advance to the quarter finals with a 2-0 win at the Parc des Princes, a game notably played without fans due to it taking place at the very beginning of the worldwide COVID pandemic.
Seemingly wary of playing too defensively, as they did in the away game in this year’s group stages, Terzic has promised a more dynamic Dortmund side this time out:
“We weren’t satisfied with our game in Paris. At that time, we weren’t yet a cohesive unit and we tried adopting a defensive approach. The plan seemed good, but its application didn’t satisfy me. We lacked courage, but we showed last week in Dortmund that it was possible to play better in a completely different style.”
Despite his confidence that Dortmund can carry over their performance from the home leg, Terzic has been in the game long enough to acknowledge that it will de a difficult task in a buoyant Parc des Princes, and understands why PSG can claim to be confident:
“I didn’t even notice that they appeared confident, but they can be, they have exceptional quality. They deserve to be in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, we have also been able to build such confidence that we feel assured in approaching this match. PSG’s project was built to win the Champions League, they have already won their league this season. Now, this is their mission but we also have a dream and we want to make it happen. We will run 20km more than them tomorrow if we have to.
In the Bundesliga, we are the team that has taken the least amount of points against the top five teams, but we’re still alive in the Champions League and we’re in the semi-finals. We created a foundation last week and we want to keep our Wembley dream alive.”
Veteran defender Mats Hummels (35) echoed the sentiments of his coach, emphasising what qualification for the final would mean to the squad:
“We have a big objective and a big dream. Of course we want to go to the final, we don’t care who we’ll face if we make it, any team who makes the final will be strong.”
The potential subplots from a Dortmund perspective are fascinating, with captain and club legend Marco Reus (34) having just announced that he’ll be leaving the club at the end of the season. If Dortmund do manage to qualify for the final, they could face domestic arch-rivals Bayern Munich in a rematch of the all-German 2013 final, incredibly played (and won by Bayern) at Wembley Stadium. Hummels future is also uncertain, with the experienced stopper delaying an announcement on his future until after the end of the season.
Dortmund have alot on the line. PSG should be confident, but they should also be wary of the threat of Edin Terzic’s side.
