Marco Rose praises Antonios Papadopoulos and Gregor Kobel after Bochum friendly

Marco Rose singled out praise for Antonios Papadopoulos and Gregor Kobel after Borussia Dortmund’s pre-season friendly against VfL Bochum on Saturday. 

Borussia Dortmund took on newly promoted Bundesliga side VfL Bochum in a pre-season friendly on Saturday. The first-team players played out a goalless draw in the first half, before the U-23s suffered a 3-1 defeat in the second. Head coach Marco Rose gave his thoughts after the game and was largely pleased with the way his team played.

"“Generally speaking, my conclusion is positive,” Rose said. “It was a very dynamic game with a lot of duels. Despite the high workload in training, the guys really threw themselves into the game. In the end, the only thing missing was the goal. We kept another clean sheet, which is also important.”"

Rose also reserved special praise for U-23s defender Antonios Papadopoulos, who was Borussia Dortmund’s standout player in the first half of the game.

"“We showed a lot of good challenges, but Papa (Antonios Papadopoulos) stood out. I’d love to see more of that.”"

Papadopoulos, who joined Borussia Dortmund II on a free transfer this summer, played at centre-back alongside fellow U-23s defender Lennard Maloney in the first half. The 21 year old played with great aggression and wasn’t afraid to get stuck in. He also played some neat forward passes and looked very comfortable with the ball on his feet. His performance certainly left an impression on Marco Rose as well as the BVB supporters.

Rose also spoke about Gregor Kobel, who made his Borussia Dortmund debut on Saturday. The 23 year old cut short his post Euro 2020 break to join his new Borussia Dortmund teammates in training earlier this week.

"“Gregor is a positive lad who will definitely help us. You can see that in training too. We’re outstandingly well equipped in goalkeeper position. The other guys are also fully pulling their weight.”"

Gregor Kobel also spoke after the game and was pleased to make his debut. He was also delighted to be able to play in front of fans once again.

"“It was a nice feeling to be on the pitch in this jersey, to get a sense of the guys. And it was great to play in front of fans again after ages. Something was missing without spectators.”“I wanted to find a good mix. Rest was important, but I wanted to join the team as soon as possible.”"

Borussia Dortmund now turn their attentions to their training camp in Switzerland, which is due to get underway next Friday.