Coach Niko Kovac has expressed fundamental criticism of the club World Cup in the United States after Borussia Dortmund's departure. Kovac asked the FIFA World Football Association to think about changes with regard to the World Cup in the coming year, which is largely also taking place in the States.
“The tournament certainly needs adjustments in some areas. A very important point is already the kick-off time,” said the BVB coach after the 2: 3 (0: 2) of the Dortmund in the quarter-finals on Saturday against Real Madrid. “The fact that the players are exposed to the midday sun, where it is so hot that a normal -mortal should not go outside and the footballers should then bring top performances – I think that is very borderline. We have to be careful,” said Kovac.
“This will certainly also be the case at the World Cup next year. But I would like to take some consideration of the players,” said the 53-year-old.
Kovac also criticized the playing field with partly other lawns than in Europe to unusual properties. “You need other conditions for high-speed football.”
“Internationally, no German team was better than we were”
“We are eighth in the European ranking, stood in the quarter -finals of the Champions League and now in the top eight in the world. That is impressive,” said Ricken. “Internationally, no German team has been better than us in the past two years.” Before BVB, Bayern Munich also failed in the quarter-finals on Paris Saint-Germain (0: 2).
Until the quarter-finals moved into, the Dortmunders from FIFA received a good $ 53 million in prize money. In addition to the deduction of the costs, around three million euros of premiums were also distributed for the players. “I hope that the time here in the USA welded our team together,” said the 48-year-old.
For BVB we went back to Germany in the evening after the game. “The players are getting a vacation now. And then we all start together with the preparation for the coming season. This is an advantage over the past years,” said Ricken.
Ricken was also satisfied with the game against Real, in which Dortmund had been inferior to the turbulent final phase for a long time. “We didn't play a bad game today, never gave up, in the end it was even spectacular, Marcel Sabitzer had the huge chance of 3: 3,” said Ricken. “But Real Madrid was more effective and clearer in the crucial moments. We recognize this and congratulate you on progress.”