Dortmund’s hectic fixture list means Großkreutz must push the World Cup to the back of his mind, even though the tournament in Brazil is set to kick off in just 80 days’ time. But he is still hoping to book his place on the plane to South America. “What’s the point of having dreams if you abandon them?” he said. And yet despite his “absolute delight” at receiving a call-up for the Chile match, Großkreutz is well aware that nobody can “successfully talk their way into the national team”.
The 23-man squad will be fully focused on the World Cup when the time comes, with Großkreutz sure that allegiances to the Black and Yellows or the Royal Blues will play no role at this summer’s tournament in Brazil. “When you wear the badge on your chest and pull on the white shirt of a country that has won several World Cup titles, the only thought on your mind is to help Germany achieve success – your club has no relevance at all.”
But it certainly will do on Tuesday evening when referee Florian Meyer’s whistle signals the start of the 144th local derby, with so much at stake for both Ruhr clubs: good moods and bad moods, eternal optimism or everlasting pessimism, ecstatic euphoria or total despair. Only Nuri Sahin and Robert Lewandowski have surpassed Kevin Großkreutz’s 25 Bundesliga appearances for Dortmund so far this season, and the winger offered a few words of consolation for the losing side on Tuesday. The pain “will only last for a few months,” he said. “The next derby will come around soon enough.”
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Local lad and former south-stand fan Kevin Großkreutz understands the importance of the derby more than most of his Borussia Dortmund team-mates. “It’s a match that leaves football fans in the Ruhr either jumping for joy or in total despair,” revealed the winger in an interview with German newspaper Die Welt.
Both bragging rights and second spot in the Bundesliga will be up for grabs when Borussia Dortmund host Schalke in the 144th Ruhr derby on Tuesday (20:00 CET live on Sky). And although the home side beat their local rivals 3-1 on 26 October 2013, Schalke have only lost on one of their last six trips to the Signal Iduna Park. A victory over Dortmund on Tuesday would take Schalke (50 points) above their rivals (51 points) into second place.
However, Großkreutz and the Dortmund supporters are hoping their team can extend their lead over the Royal Blues to four points, and the winger described the importance of Tuesday’s fixture to the fans: “They’re hoping with every fibre of their being that we defeat Schalke for the second time this season.”
The procedure remains the same
But Großkreutz, who is currently in his sixth year at the club and remains under contract until 2016, is a true professional. After all, the season is a marathon and not a sprint. “We don’t treat the days preceding a match any differently, whether it’s a Cup clash with Saarbrücken, a Champions League quarter-final tie with Real Madrid or a derby against Schalke”, he said. “Our procedure is always the same.”
And the Germany international gives his side a 50-50 chance of winning Tuesday’s encounter. “Both teams have a lot of quality and are suffering from injury problems at the moment. Our match against Hannover was the first of nine games in the space of 27 days. A fixture list like that requires a great deal of concentration.”
Dortmund are fighting on several fronts again this season, facing Schalke in this week’s derby and Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League before taking on Wolfsburg in the semi-final of the German Cup on 15 April. “Our objectives haven’t changed one bit. We’re still capable of achieving all of these aims despite our lengthy injury list,” declared Großkreutz.
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World Cup dreams
Dortmund’s hectic fixture list means Großkreutz must push the World Cup to the back of his mind, even though the tournament in Brazil is set to kick off in just 80 days’ time. But he is still hoping to book his place on the plane to South America. “What’s the point of having dreams if you abandon them?” he said. And yet despite his “absolute delight” at receiving a call-up for the Chile match, Großkreutz is well aware that nobody can “successfully talk their way into the national team”.
The 23-man squad will be fully focused on the World Cup when the time comes, with Großkreutz sure that allegiances to the Black and Yellows or the Royal Blues will play no role at this summer’s tournament in Brazil. “When you wear the badge on your chest and pull on the white shirt of a country that has won several World Cup titles, the only thought on your mind is to help Germany achieve success – your club has no relevance at all.”
But it certainly will do on Tuesday evening when referee Florian Meyer’s whistle signals the start of the 144th local derby, with so much at stake for both Ruhr clubs: good moods and bad moods, eternal optimism or everlasting pessimism, ecstatic euphoria or total despair. Only Nuri Sahin and Robert Lewandowski have surpassed Kevin Großkreutz’s 25 Bundesliga appearances for Dortmund so far this season, and the winger offered a few words of consolation for the losing side on Tuesday. The pain “will only last for a few months,” he said. “The next derby will come around soon enough.”
