Borussia Dortmund striker Fabio Silva is back in the news and for good reason. The striker scored his first goal of their preseason campaign and it helped his team earn a narrow 1-0 victory on Saturday.
Back in the starting lineup after three games, Silva delivered a commendable performance. His constant runs and link-up plays gave Tokyo a lot to think about.
While it's true that the BVB welcomed back many of their first team stars for the first time post their World Cup commitments, the Portuguese was still an outlier.
His crossing was on point, passes were top-notch and he topped it all off with a fabulous long-range strike from near the edge of the box after a quick turn to evade his marker.
However, his post-match comments might rile up the Dortmund supporters. When asked if there's room for improvement going forward after the side netted just once across two games during the Japan tour, Silva replied:
"“We have players on our roster with whom we can create more chances. I think that’s the point: We can create more chances and cause more damage to the opponent. But this is just preseason; it’s a long process.""
While one can understand that it's only the pre-season, but is it still any excuse for the players not to give it all? Friendly games in the lead-up to the season proper are a great chance for substitutes and reserves to prove a point; to show that they can offer value to the side.
In light of this, Silva's insinuation that Dortmund not trying their best going forward despite being very much capable of it, is sure to anger the fans who were already at the end of their tether following back-to-back dismal shows against Fortuna Dusseldorf and Cerezo Osaka.
Preseason games might be forgotten once their actual campaign begins, but it sure has the potential to give them some momentum entering into the initial few set of games in the new season if the results come out favorable.
Silva further attributed Dortmund's struggles upon the national team players only just returning but looked forward better outcomes in their next two friendlies.
""Some national team players are just now joining us; they only played in this game today. And not all the players are here yet. We still have two friendly matches ahead of us to ensure we’re well prepared for what we want to achieve this season.”"
In honesty though, it's not for the lack of first-team stars - it's this casual approach towards the preseason that has seen many of the players performing well below their best in these games.
Hopefully against the mightier likes of Arsenal and AS Roma, we will get to see more urgency and character in Dortmund's playing style.
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