There might have been a sense of some bad blood at the time but it’s all water under the bridge for Nuri Sahin, writes Michael Gannon in Germany.
It turns out the Borussia Dortmund manager wasn’t writing angry messages in his diary about Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers when the pair were together at Liverpool more than a decade ago. The former midfielder was taking notes from the manager instead. Sahin famously spat the dummy out when on a loan spell at Anfield from Real Madrid when he didn’t get to play in his preferred role in the heart of the engine room. In the end he was shipped out and headed to Dortmund but he couldn’t resist a dig on the way out.
He famously told Spanish reporters: “Thank God I have left Brendan Rodgers…”
Time is a great healer and memories can become fogged too. As Sahin gets set to face Rodgers in the Champions League tomorrow night at the Signal Iduna Park – the Westfalenstadion in old money – there are certainly no hard feelings.
Sahin said: “Was it a difficult time at Liverpool? Absolutely not. I don’t know what I said back in the days when I was young, but the only thing was for me that I played in a different position than I used to play. But the problem was that Steven Gerrard played in my position! So I had to adjust with my position, and this was the only thing.
“Everything else, I really enjoyed during my time at Liverpool. It’s a fantastic club and under Brendan I enjoyed every training session with him. It was very ball-oriented, ball possession and playing in the opponent’s half. I can only say good things about him and my time there. The thing is when you get a call from Dortmund, and you’re a Dortmund boy, you go back home. So this was the only reason.”
Sahin might have had a petted lip at his lack of game time but he was still impressed with Rodgers as a coach back then – and even more so now. And as a guy who speaks five languages, it was the football talk that won him over.
Sahin said: “Before the transfer, we had a lot of conversations, a lot of discussions. I think he’s originally from Northern Ireland, but he has that Spanish vibe. He loves possession in his football. Like I said, I liked his training sessions, they were really interesting. Back then, I already took notes for my own coaching career. We meet again after 12 years, and I’m really looking forward to this duel.”
It will be a memorable night for Sahin as he prepares to take charge of his first Champions League match in front of the famous Yellow Wall since becoming boss. He got off to a flier with a 3-0 win in Bruges a fortnight ago but it’s been a bumpier ride in the Bundesliga with the recent 5-1 defeat to Stuttgart a sore one.
Sahin – who made more than 250 appearances for his club in three separate spells – said: “It has to be always something special, that you can enjoy playing the Champions League matches for Borussia Dortmund in your home stadium.
“I have to say how the fans, the supporters carried us on Friday, that was really extraordinary, because I know in what direction it can go when the supporters don’t support you, but what we lived here, what we experienced here in the second half time, it was really extraordinary.
“They should do what they do every time, and we have to deliver on the pitch. I hope that I can say one day that we can look back at this evening and be happy about it.”
Dortmund fans are less convinced right now as even seemingly simple wins have been made to look hard work. Friday night’s derby against Bochum was tougher than it needed to be as Borussia had to come back from two down and a half-time bollocking to win 4-2.
Midfielder Pascal Gross – who was snapped up from Brighting in the summer – said: “I’m sure that we can get better, that we can improve. I’m still new here. I’m still trying to get to know everything, I have a new coach, new teammates – but we know that we’re playing for Borussia Dortmund, we have to win matches while improving.
“We want to play better, we want to perform better, because then maybe we can win the matches even easier and more clearly, for that we need a little bit more time. But of course we need to win the matches, what we managed to do on Friday evening, it’s good to win matches, and it’s good also to know that we still have a little work in front of us.”