Under pressure in Baku - BVB seeks attack

The final stage of an intense week is on: Borussia Dortmund travels to the Champions League match in Baku. In Azerbaijan, the BVB is under pressure after last three games without victory and two games without their own goals. The BVB managers are still relaxed, well aware that a further failure against the underdog would greatly intensify the crisis discussion. On a first tricky task Niko Kovac already failed before the Champions League duel at Sabah FK. The coach of Borussia Dortmund made every effort, but he could not give an answer to the question of an Azerbaijani journalist. "A little wild." Frankly, I do not know what to say, because I did not understand the question, said the coach of Borussia Dortmund at the press conference before the Champions League duel today (from 6.45 pm in the audio stream) in Baku. Further translation attempts by the interpreter on site also brought no light into the darkness. “I didn’t understand it again,” Kovac said, shrugging his shoulders. After several failed communication attempts between coach and journalist, the BVB continued the press conference and promised to deal with the question again in detail. Crisis? BVB coach Niko Kovac denies The question-and-answer game of the press conference was at that moment similarly tough as the performances of the Dortmunders in the previous games. The 0:0 at Union Berlin was the third winless game in series, with the Dortmunders after a strong start of the season disillusionment arrived. Previously, there was a 2-2 against Bremen and a 0-1 defeat in the premier class at Bodö/Glimt. Above all, the BVB offensively lacked the penetration power. Nevertheless, Kovac does not want to know anything about a "crisis". “We are second in the table and on the same level as Bayern Munich,” said Kovac, talking about the three games without success. We dominated Bremen and played unluckily 2:2. At Union it was a clear 0-0 game. Once we decided to lose. What Kovac does not like, are the results. “But I don’t make any drama out of it,” the 55-year-old said. The team has the quality to flip the lever. I am convinced of that. How Kovac wants to solve Dortmund's offensive problem Lars Ricken had previously expressed himself during the departure to Baku. "We can see that it is a difficult phase right now," says BVB's Managing Director Sport. The fact that we do not win three times in a row is not normal for Borussia Dortmund. But we can already realize that we have created an excellent starting situation in the early phase of the season - in all competitions. After last two games without their own hits, the Dortmunders also questioned more creativity - especially after the renewed failure of Konstantinos Karetsas. As a replacement for the Greek come according to Kovac, among others Fabio Silva and Carney Chukwuemeka in question. Silva has done really well against Union and brought a breath of fresh air, Chukwuemeka is a "like type of player" like Karetsas and can give the BVB game creativity. According to Ricken, regardless of the staff, it is also about the attitude to the game: On the offense we want to take more initiative and be aggressive. We want to have the greed again to want to win the games. The BVB should approach the game with "lust and anticipation". Sabah FK as a clear underdog "It should be our claim to come back with a win", Ricken continues: "Of course there is a certain pressure, but I think we should now take this as a drive, as a privilege, because it is simply an expression of our claim." Even if Dortmund and the reigning Azerbaijani champion go into the game on equal points (three points each), the BVB is clearly the favourite against the royal class newcomer. If the Dortmunders do not win again, Kovac will probably have to answer the question of the crisis differently. The unconcerned attitude would then be difficult to maintain. After all, no translation problems would be expected at the next Bundesliga press conference on the crisis issue. Our sources: news agencies DPA and SID on 19.10.2026 Press conference of Borussia Dortmund on 19.10.2026 Broadcast: WDR.de, Can you speak of crisis at the BVB?, 19.10.2026, 23:03 clock