Borussia Dortmund head coach Niko Kovac had some explaining to do after last night’s DFB Pokal elimination at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen. Kovac spoke on his choices both before kick-off and at the post-match press conference. As soon as the team sheets were released, there was already one big issue to address. Namely, lead striker Serhou Guirassy’s absence from the starting XI.
Though plenty will theorize otherwise, Kovac insisted that Guirassy’s benching had nothing to do with the scene over the weekend in which the Guinean forward declined to shake his hand after being substituted off against Leverkusen in the league. Speaking to Sky Germany, Kovac made a deliberate effort to frame the choice as a decision in favor of Fabio Silva rather than a decision against Guirassy.
“He [Silva] has done very well in recent weeks and that’s why he’s been given a chance to start in front of the home-town fans today,” Kovac told Sky. “[Guirassy’s benching] has nothing to do with recent history. I know that there will be speculation, but I want to put that to rest now.“
Later on at the post-match press conference, a reporter questioned Kovac’s decision to revert from a 3-3-2-2 to a 3-4-3, sacrificing Guirassy, Julian Brandt, and Marcel Sabitzer in favor of Silva, Carney Chukwuemeka, and Jobe Bellingham. Kovac handled the question cooly.
“In Croatia, we have an expression,” Kovac began. “[It goes] ‘After the battle, anyone can be the general’. I have to make the decisions before the game and I believe we made good decisions today. Carney [Chukwuemeka] was very agile, though he wasn’t able to get the ball deep consistently enough.
“If one can replay a game after it’s over, there’s always something one would have changed,” Kovac concluded.
