Opinion: Edin Terzić not the main catalyst of Borussia Dortmund’s draw against VFB Stuttgart

Edin Terzić frustrated by players’ lack of responsibility

During the press conference that followed the game, Edin Terzić did not mince words when commenting on the day’s events:

"“I’m trying to be very honest now. There are reasons why we haven’t made it to the top in the last ten years…This is the place in which I normally want to defend my team, protect us as a group and maintain a positive energy…but I’m finding it very difficult, because it’s just so unnecessary, so stupid.”"

Terzić’s reason for Borussia Dortmund’s performance against Stuttgart as well as the club’s general underperformance came down to a concept that we’ve all come to know quite well in following BVB: a lack of discipline. He went on to describe the conversation he had with the players a halftime, which in itself is quite enlightening:

"“At half-time, we spoke about all the right things and explicitly addressed what must not happen, but it still happened…The only way the opposition was going to get back into the game was if we lost our discipline.”"

It’s clear that the perennial elephant in the room was certainly discussed at half time, but as Terzić noted, the actions on the pitch did not indicate that the cautionary half-time team talk had sunk in. The players were certainly told to keep their concentration levels high and to stay sharp, but as Terzić was quick to highlight:

"“…that only works when we see it through to the end, when every individual player takes responsibility and doesn’t just think: ‘The guy next to me will deal with it somehow.”"

Discipline and general consistency is something the club has certainly struggled with, but their run of form after the winter break has exposed them for what they are: capable and talented footballers that can indeed find consistency and remain focused to see out results. The question then is, where do these lapses come from?

It’s long been said that Borussia Dortmund can often take their foot off the gas after putting themselves ahead during games, which often leads to them allowing opponents a chance to come back and take something from the game. This shows, in essence a lack of respect for the opponents.

This is exactly what happened against Stuttgart, to the dismay of anyone with a BVB inclination. Watching the second half was an emotionally-pummeling experience because of the hope it instilled and then so abruptly took away.