BVB stumbles at St. Pauli: Alarming statements from the players after the final whistle

Hamburg. Julian Brandt coolly finished into the far corner after a perfect touch. The Borussia Dortmund attacker ran jubilantly toward the traveling fans from North Rhine-Westphalia after BVB took a 3-1 lead against FC St. Pauli. The 74th minute was the final whistle? Not at all. The team squandered what they thought was a sure victory in Hamburg on the first day of the Bundesliga season.

The final score was 3:3. Almost more alarming than the points dropped, however, was what Brandt and his teammates said after the match. "Of course, we let some of our courage slip away in the end," said the 48-time German international.

BVB captain and goalkeeper Gregor Kobel was even clearer. "Ultimately, what made us strong last season was the intensity, the willingness to run, and the team spirit to give it our all from the start – simply fighting and throwing ourselves into the duels. And I thought we took a step back compared to last season." Coach Niko Kovac explained: "We didn't take on the fight today the way we should have."

All of these words must have caused at least some irritation among BVB fans. After all, a lack of willingness to run and a lack of fighting spirit should really be a thing of the past at Dortmund. The lack of precisely these virtues has been repeatedly discussed in recent years – especially after defeats or unnecessary draws against supposedly smaller opponents, like Saturday night's game against St. Pauli. The key word: mentality.

After Kovac took over as coach of BVB in February, these issues seemed to have been put aside for the 2011 and 2012 German champions. The 53-year-old stabilized an inconsistent Dortmund side for months and led them to the Champions League with an impressive run of results.

The goalscorer screams his joy. Eric Smith scores to make it 3-3.

Source: IMAGO/Torsten Helmke

Was the game in Hamburg a throwback to the past, times we thought were long gone? "Of course, it doesn't happen that quickly," said Kovac, smiling in the direction of Sky presenter Patrick Wasserziehr. "We didn't play well. So we have to take the blame for that. But it's too early to talk about the past now," added the coach.

Julian Brandt described the red card for BVB Bundesliga debutant Filippo Mané as a "crucial moment." The 20-year-old held St. Pauli's Abdoulie Ceesay in his own penalty area with the score at 3-1. Referee Matthias Jöllenbeck sent the defender off for this foul. Danel Sinani converted the resulting penalty in the 86th minute. Three minutes later, Eric Smith made it 3-3. The sold-out Millerntor Stadium erupted.

Serhou Guirassy had given BVB the lead in the first half, but missed a penalty to make it 2-0. Andreas Hountondji equalized early in the second period before Waldemar Anton and Brandt briefly pulled the plug at Millerntor.

But it ultimately wasn't enough for three points, partly because Guirassy only half-heartedly attacked the goalscorer Smith before the 3-3 tie. "You can prevent that beforehand so he doesn't get a shot," said Sky expert and Germany's most capped player Lothar Matthäus about the incident. At least: In the ten minutes of stoppage time, BVB, who rarely performed like a top team over the entire 90 minutes, didn't let the game slip completely out of their hands while outnumbered.

Nevertheless, it's fair to ask why, after the first 90 minutes of the season—BVB fans are hoping to finally become Bayern's number one hunter again—BVB is once again having to grapple with issues like a lack of attitude and commitment. If Kovac doesn't get these problems under control quickly, BVB will be chasing more than just Bayern during the remaining 33 matchdays.