Borussia Dortmund should strip Germany international Emre Can of the captaincy ahead of their Champions League showdown with Celtic, according to legend Lothar Matthaus.
The Hoops travel to the Westfalenstadion next week for their second game in the new-look competition after getting off to a stunning start with a thumping win over Slovan Bratislava. But Dortmund were rocked after being slaughtered by Stuttgart in a 5-1 Bundesliga defeat at the weekend.
New manager Nuri Sahin confirmed he would retain Can as captain even though he is now not a regular first choice pick for Dortmund and was benched in the defeat to Stuttgart. And Matthaus – the first player to play in five consecutive World Cups and now a top TV pundit – reckons BVB have to make changes soon. He said: “For me, a captain has to be a regular player. It has nothing to do with Emre Can as a person, but I would choose a different player as the captain.”
And Dortmund sports director Sebastian Kehl slammed his own players after their weekend loss and urged improvement ahead of Friday’s derby with Bochum and showdown with Celtic. He said: “Everyone should take a look at themselves. Apart from a small number of players, I didn’t see anyone who was in form – or who gave the feeling that they wanted to win the game. That was very, very bad. We are very disappointed and really angry. Every player should be really angry too. We lost every 50/50 and were always too late.”
Meanwhile, Celtic outcast Gustaf Lagerbielke insists he has no regrets quitting the Hoops to join Twente Enschede on loan….despite not playing a single minute for the Dutch team yet. The 24-year-old joined the Eredivisie club on a season-long loan after falling out of the first team picture at Parkhead under Brendan Rodgers.
But despite not featuring at all yet, Lagerbielke is comfortable at his new club. He said: “It feels like it’s only a matter of time until I get to play, and I’m looking forward to that. I enjoy myself here and I feel like I’ve settled in well. I didn’t get much playing time at Celtic and both me and the club agreed that a loan would be very good for both parties.
“Then I considered my options and there were a few clubs in many different countries interested. I compared the advantages and disadvantages of all and had meetings with different clubs.
“After the meeting with Twente it felt like it was a very good match. They have a very clear focus on development with the way they train. They have a fairly small squad where they put a lot of responsibility on each player. That combined with playing in the Dutch league which is very good, together with the Europa League felt like a perfect combination.
“It’s about being able to play and be an important player in the team. With that comes development. Not playing so far is not something I worry about. I’d say I’m at the best place in my career. That’s how I feel about my own ability, both physically, tactically, technically, mentally and everything. I feel I am in a very good place. In terms of football, I feel like I’m at the highest level I’ve been at in my life, then I just hope to show that on the pitch soon as well.”