World Champion André Schürrle had plenty to smile about as he left the changing rooms on Saturday evening. The Germany international had just secured a 1-0 home victory with Borussia Dortmund over defending champions FC Bayern München. The 26-year-old was brought off after 68 minutes, having shown a very active performance as he made way for fellow Germany international Erik Durm to celebrate his comeback from a lengthy injury.
In an interview with DFB.de Schürrle talks about his emotions after the win, Mario Götze’s performance, the title race and the upcoming Champions League encounter with Legia Warsaw on Tuesday.
Question: André Schürrle, are victories against Bayern special?
André Schürrle:Absolutely. Even though we are Borussia Dortmund and at home we desperately wanted to win this game. Nonetheless, winning against Bayern is always special. Particularly because of the situation we are in and the fact that not many believed we could pull it off. That makes this win feel really good.
Question: Indeed, not many expected that Dortmund would be able to win the game. How difficult was it over the full 90 minutes?
Schürrle: It was extremely difficult. But we knew before the game that we would have to suffer today and that was the case. We started well and had some good counter attacks, but from the 25th minute onwards, Bayern were clearly in control and had more possession. We really had to fight in this game.
Question: Your team mate and fellow Germany international Mario Götze assisted the winner and perhaps made his best performance since returning to Dortmund. What did you think of his performance?
Schürrle: It was great. You could see that in the game and with his assist. It was like a relief for him. He’s been performing well in training as well and lots of things are coming to him more easily now. He has to take this momentum going forward and I’m sure that he will. It’s important both for us and for him.
World Champion André Schürrle had plenty to smile about as he left the changing rooms on Saturday evening. The Germany international had just secured a 1-0 home victory with Borussia Dortmund over defending champions FC Bayern München. The 26-year-old was brought off after 68 minutes, having shown a very active performance as he made way for fellow Germany international Erik Durm to celebrate his comeback from a lengthy injury.
In an interview with DFB.de Schürrle talks about his emotions after the win, Mario Götze’s performance, the title race and the upcoming Champions League encounter with Legia Warsaw on Tuesday.
Question: André Schürrle, are victories against Bayern special?
André Schürrle:Absolutely. Even though we are Borussia Dortmund and at home we desperately wanted to win this game. Nonetheless, winning against Bayern is always special. Particularly because of the situation we are in and the fact that not many believed we could pull it off. That makes this win feel really good.
Question: Indeed, not many expected that Dortmund would be able to win the game. How difficult was it over the full 90 minutes?
Schürrle: It was extremely difficult. But we knew before the game that we would have to suffer today and that was the case. We started well and had some good counter attacks, but from the 25th minute onwards, Bayern were clearly in control and had more possession. We really had to fight in this game.
Question: Your team mate and fellow Germany international Mario Götze assisted the winner and perhaps made his best performance since returning to Dortmund. What did you think of his performance?
Schürrle: It was great. You could see that in the game and with his assist. It was like a relief for him. He’s been performing well in training as well and lots of things are coming to him more easily now. He has to take this momentum going forward and I’m sure that he will. It’s important both for us and for him.
Question: Dortmund are currently in third place and just three points behind Bayern. Leipzig are first with a six-point cushion ahead of BVB. How open is this title race?
Schürrle: We’ll have to wait and see. We shouldn’t be looking at the standings that much right now, but more to our games. We have to get back into a type of flow. If we manage to that, I’m sure that we can start a great run until the winter break.
Question:Your next game is on Tuesday already, where you will be looking to secure first place in your Champions League group in the home encounter with Legia Warsaw. Was the game against Bayern perhaps too energy consuming for Dortmund in regard to Tuesday?
Schürrle: No. That’s why we have a deep squad. We have to regenerate well these next two days. Rest, sleep and eat well. We’ve had a lot of players who were injured for a long time and I’m one of them. These players need to play 90 minutes. We will field a top team on Tuesday, looking to go full throttle for the full 90 minutes.
Question: In the first leg against Warsaw, Dortmund ran rampage and recorded a 6-0 victory. Can the fans expect a similar scoreline on Tuesday?
Schürrle: No. Legia have since then improved. They played a very good game at home against Real Madrid. It’s never easy in the Champions League and our first match with them wasn’t an easy affair either. We just played a good game and we need to try and play well with the ball again. Then I’m sure that we will celebrate another with here in front of our fans.
