Preparation for the Super Cup
Borussia Dortmund are preparing for the Super Cup against Bayern Munich. The match takes place on Saturday at Signal Iduna Park. Coach Niko Kovac stresses that the game will be a good indicator for the season and that the team wants to win at home. Lars Ricken, sporting director, added that they want to be "bold, ready to fight and hungry" if they win.
BVB’s Form in Friendlies
In six friendly matches BVB showed a clear upward trend. They won five and lost only the opener 1-2 against Wehen Wiesbaden. The victories include a 3-2 win over Arsenal, a 2-2 draw after coming back from 0-2 against AS Roma, a 1-0 win over FC Tokyo and a 0-1 loss to Cerezo Osaka. On the Japan tour the results were 0-1 to Cerezo Osaka and 1-0 to FC Tokyo. In South Korea and Hong Kong they won 2-1 against Jeju SK and 2-1 against Aston Villa. In Germany BVB defeated RB Leipzig 3-1 and 1. FC Heidenheim 4-2.
Return of World-Cup Players
The return of the two World-Cup players Gregor Kobel and Julian Ryerson to the squad at the season opener was only on the last Saturday. These players are expected to strengthen the team for the coming season.
Bayern Munich in Focus
Bayern Munich also posted strong results in friendlies. They beat FC Rottach-Egern 15-0, Jeju SK 2-1 and Aston Villa 2-1. In the summer Bayern strengthened the defence with Nathaniel Brown from Eintracht Frankfurt and the attack with Ismael Saibari from PSV Eindhoven.
Historical Record
The Super Cup is coming up and for Dortmund it is the tenth official meeting with Bayern. Bayern have won five times, Dortmund four times. With a win Dortmund could level the record at 5:5. For Dortmund it would be a seventh official Super Cup title, after victories in 1989, 1995, 1996, 2013, 2014 and 2019. The match will go straight to a penalty shoot-out if no winner is decided after 90 minutes.
