It was already midnight by the time Erik Durm got the chance to assess a successful night of DFB Cup action. Last year’s runners-up Borussia Dortmund opened the scoring early on, but they suddenly found themselves 2-1 down. Durm assisted BVB’s equaliser, which allowed them to go on and beat 1899 Hoffenheim 3-2 after extra time courtesy of Sebastian Kehl’s wonder strike. Durm’s first competitive game after a few injuries, illnesses and setbacks in 2015 was a thoroughly entertaining encounter. DFB.de heard from the World Champion after the match.
DFB.de: Mr. Durm, your comeback couldn’t have been much nicer really?
Erik Durm: That’s true. The team made it really easy for me. It obviously wasn’t very easy physically speaking, to put in 120 minutes in my first game back. I noticed that it was a real strain for me in the final 15 minutes or so. My muscles were pretty much shutting down by the end, but that’s not unusual in a game like that. We’re delighted to have progressed. Nothing else is important after a real cup fight like we had tonight.
DFB.de: Things were looking good after you took the lead, but then you let in two goals in a matter of minutes. What did you make of the first half?
Durm: We battled hard throughout the match and got stuck into every tackle. We never stopped pushing forward, even after going 2-1 down.
DFB.de: What was said during the interval?
Durm: We talked about trying to get down the flanks more and playing some crosses, particularly early crosses. We continued to push and deserved our equaliser. We had more good chances after that, including in extra time. I still have Kevin Kampl’s miss in my mind. We applied the pressure and only got caught on the counter a couple of times – and Mitch Langerak made a terrific save.
DFB.de: And then came that shot from Sebastian Kehl.
Durm: Yep! Kehli hit it superbly. That’s why we deserved to go through.
DFB.de: You put in a perfect cross for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s equaliser. Good crosses have been something of a rarity in Dortmund lately. Congrats!
Durm: It was a cross from me this time, but next time it will be one from Schmelle. We’re mostly happy that we have Auba in the middle who can put them away.
DFB.de: You played on the right-hand side of the back four instead of the left – is that better for you, at least in terms of putting crosses in?
Durm: I feel comfortable on the left too, but yes, being on the right has the advantage of being able to cross straightaway. I always have to cut in on the left, so it worked quite well.
DFB.de: Who do you want in the semi-finals?
Durm: To be honest, I couldn’t care less!
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It was already midnight by the time Erik Durm got the chance to assess a successful night of DFB Cup action. Last year’s runners-up Borussia Dortmund opened the scoring early on, but they suddenly found themselves 2-1 down. Durm assisted BVB’s equaliser, which allowed them to go on and beat 1899 Hoffenheim 3-2 after extra time courtesy of Sebastian Kehl’s wonder strike. Durm’s first competitive game after a few injuries, illnesses and setbacks in 2015 was a thoroughly entertaining encounter. DFB.de heard from the World Champion after the match.
DFB.de: Mr. Durm, your comeback couldn’t have been much nicer really?
Erik Durm: That’s true. The team made it really easy for me. It obviously wasn’t very easy physically speaking, to put in 120 minutes in my first game back. I noticed that it was a real strain for me in the final 15 minutes or so. My muscles were pretty much shutting down by the end, but that’s not unusual in a game like that. We’re delighted to have progressed. Nothing else is important after a real cup fight like we had tonight.
DFB.de: Things were looking good after you took the lead, but then you let in two goals in a matter of minutes. What did you make of the first half?
Durm: We battled hard throughout the match and got stuck into every tackle. We never stopped pushing forward, even after going 2-1 down.
DFB.de: What was said during the interval?
Durm: We talked about trying to get down the flanks more and playing some crosses, particularly early crosses. We continued to push and deserved our equaliser. We had more good chances after that, including in extra time. I still have Kevin Kampl’s miss in my mind. We applied the pressure and only got caught on the counter a couple of times – and Mitch Langerak made a terrific save.
DFB.de: And then came that shot from Sebastian Kehl.
Durm: Yep! Kehli hit it superbly. That’s why we deserved to go through.
DFB.de: You put in a perfect cross for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s equaliser. Good crosses have been something of a rarity in Dortmund lately. Congrats!
Durm: It was a cross from me this time, but next time it will be one from Schmelle. We’re mostly happy that we have Auba in the middle who can put them away.
DFB.de: You played on the right-hand side of the back four instead of the left – is that better for you, at least in terms of putting crosses in?
Durm: I feel comfortable on the left too, but yes, being on the right has the advantage of being able to cross straightaway. I always have to cut in on the left, so it worked quite well.
DFB.de: Who do you want in the semi-finals?
Durm: To be honest, I couldn’t care less!
