Kovac: Adeyemi gradually understands that "even the striker needs to take on the task of returning to defense"

September 22: On September 21 local time, in the fourth round of this season's Bundesliga, Dortmund defeated Wolfsburg 1-0 at home, and Dortmund coach Kovac was interviewed after the game.

About this game

First of all, I am of course happy that the team won. Even more gratifying is that we also achieved a clean sheet, and Schlottbeck also insisted on playing for 90 minutes. I think we have performed very well today after the Champions League. The whole team is full of energy and full of energy, and does not give the opponent any opportunity to take advantage of. We deserved this victory and we did not give our opponent any chance. Of course, we had hoped to win by a bigger score, but we must admit that Wolfsburg also showed great strength today - they played very well and had a close tactical organization, and it was no easy task to defeat them.

About Schlottbeck

For me, when a player is in a long-term recovery stage, the first thing is of course that he can return healthy, especially return to competitive state. Because we can't try to let him play 10 minutes this time and 20 minutes next time in the next game - this is exactly what our coaching team, or our recovery team, has been trying to avoid. Schlottbeck's recovery process was very smooth this time and we must pay tribute to the rehabilitation team. In my opinion, the return of a long-term injury should be like this: he can immediately devote himself to playing for 90 minutes, and Schlottbeck's performance today is an excellent example.

About Karim Adeyemi's outstanding form

Adeyemi played only 5 minutes in the last home game against Berlin United, and he must have been very upset at the time. But I said to him, "Adeyemi, you are a very good striker, but you have to learn to go back to defend and participate in defense." Now he is doing better and better in this regard. Adeyemi gradually understood that "even the forwards need to take on the task of returning to defense." Because in the Bundesliga, opponents can seize the loopholes in our defense at any time to launch an attack - just like we saw in the Champions League before.

Regarding the goal of Adeyemi in this game, I know very well how strong Adeyemi's thigh explosiveness is - in our team, no one jumps higher than him.

Regarding the possibility of Dortmund winning the Bundesliga championship

I am very clear about the current situation. We have just finished the fourth round of the league, and my point of view remains unchanged: last year we had 25 points from the top of the standings, that is, the league champion (point difference), and 13 points away from Leverkusen. We should continue to work hard now, and the lads are doing the same. They are constantly improving and learning, and of course, there will inevitably be ups and downs in the process. But the key is that the team needs to keep moving forward, and I see that in this team.