The tough match against Schalke was like a much needed baptism for the new Dortmund team. After the change in manager and abolition of old tactics the squad was having hard time adapting to the innovative tactical ideas that were presented in front of them.
But during the intense match against their rivals, Schalke, the tactics somehow clicked and naturally fell in place. Even though they are not yet very adept at them, it is not an exaggeration to adorn with them the word 'familiar'.
During the next matches this familiarity grew and the whole team seemed to go through a process of rebirth.
In march 2008, Dortmund climbed their way into seventh place on the point table. Not terrible, but nowhere near the top. They had even lost the eligibility to compete for the champions league spot. The league was just a learning process for Klopp and his players, the game sometimes chaotic and sometimes brilliant.
But the DFB-Pokal was different.
Cup competitions didn't care about consistency. They cared about moments. About belief. About finding something special when it mattered the most. And this season, somehow this competition became the stage for Dortmund to show
case their fiery passion and unlimited energy.
The Dortmund of league and the Dortmund of the cup was an entirely different beast.
DFB-Pokal round of 16, Karlsruhe vs Dortmund:
The DFB-Pokal have always been a very unique league in European football. Unlike other domestic cup competitions in most regions, it followed a single elimination format. Meaning, there would only be one round played in the playoffs.
There won't be any away-home two leg format. The game will be played in the home stadium of one of the teams.
Is that unfair? Not at all. Infact DFB-Pokal can be considered fairer than any other cup competition because the privilege to pick a match venue is not assigned randomly. Infact, the weaker teams are given the highest priority when choosing it.
In this case, Dortmund is playing the only match of round of 16 at the home stadium of the second division club Karlsruhe. This arrangement somewhat bridged the gap in quality and wealth between both teams. So pokal have witnessed no small number of "Strafraum-Dramatik" (penalty area drama) and giant-killings!
So there were no absolute favourable odds in the favour of Dortmund before the match.
"Good evening, and welcome to Karlsruhe for this DFB-Pokal round of 16 clash. Second division Karlsruhe hosting Bundesliga's Borussia Dortmund, I am sure the Karlsruhe fans are hoping for a miracle to descend upon them."
"Indeed, Dortmund came in with their new manager Jurgen Klopp, appointed just a month ago. Even though they are still showing inconsistent performance, the biggest reason for this was this man, Jurgen Klopp is performing all sorts of experiments with this Dortmund team."
"We all know him due to the amazing performance he showcased during his time at Mainz. I greatly appreciate what he had done with that small club, elevating them into bundesliga and even managing to stay there for a couple of years. But facts say that he has yet to prove anything in the top division."
"Its true, but you have to remember: he has just started this new stint at Dortmund, and it is too early to assume anything. But he has done a fine job so far."
The match commentator Bela Rethy and the guest pundit were heating up the already explosive atmosphere.
And with the whistle from the referee, the match officially began.
Marco Reus was playing on his most familiar left wing. It has been about a month since Klopp took charge. And Marco was the best performing player of the squad so far. He also improved many major parts of his game.
The most prominent of them being his physical attributes. His physique could now cope with the intensity demanded by the manager. And he is also one of the most hard working players of the team, covering a large amount of ground during every single match.
You have to remember, he is only 19 this year.
During this period he also trained hard, focusing on leveling his skills. His short term goal is to bring the cut-in move to maximum proficiency. He never forgot the task issued by the system, hinting at a major change set to happen when maximum proficiency in a skill is reached.
Marco's first touch of the match soon came. In the second minute, he received a ground pass from Kehl, who is playing as a central midfielder during this game.
His first touch was smooth. He didn't show any haste, his moves didn't have any hurry or panic, with a quick glance, he lifted a pass to the right side, swithching the play.
Even if he has several skill moves at near maximum proficiency, it does not mean he has to use them constantly. Every skill move has its own weakness. No skill can stay invincible during all situations—this is a lesson he learned early in his career.
That's why even though he has a system which helps him to train football skills to a high proficiency, he didn't build his playing style around any specific skills.
The match progressed on, with no team allowing the other to dominate. Dortmund's constant aggression and pressure killed many of the Karlsruhe attacks in the crib, at the same time, their own attack failed to threaten the goal.
Game reached the twenty fourth minute.
Marco received the ball in the central area of the attacking third. He has already assessed the situation there with the final scan he did before receiving the ball. He already mapped the incoming defenders into his awareness, constantly tracking their movement and predicting their next action, the space they have just vacated etc.
He received the ball outside of his right boot, then cushioned the ball to pass smoothly between the two incoming defenders. Marco's next speed burst allowed him to leave behind two defenders and now he has the time and space to shoot.
And he didn't hesitate, just glancing at the goal post, and fired a low screamer at the far post. Even though the goal keeper managed to touch the ball in his desperate dive, it still proved to be futile as the ball continued on the way to the back of the net unimpeded.
0-1 Dortmund!
"Look at him! Can you believe it! This teeanager single handedly unlocked the whole defence of Karlsruhe team and finished off with an absolute screamer! This is why he is one of the most anticipated, most valuable young players in the entire europe. And his statistics so far don't lie—creating a goal out of nothing. The goal literally came out of nowhere!"
As soon as the ball landed on the net, the away team bench erupted all at once. Klopp pumped his fist high in the air, celebrating the moment with assistant coaches. This game is crucial for this team, because the cup is the only realistic goal they can aim at this season. The management has already begun to focus their efforts on it for quite some time. They can't afford to lose now.
The game resumed after the celebrations.
Under the loud cheering of the spectators, Karlsruhe intensified their attack, determined to snatch the lead from the opposition. But if Dortmund could be said to be better at anything, it should be their relentless aggressive pressing.
It was only with great difficulty they managed to keep the ball, don't even talk about creating sophisticated goal scoring opportunities. Their initial counter attacking strategy was also somewhat ineffective because of the collective defending of the whole team.
So they could only launch long balls blindly and hope to get lucky. But the defense line made of Hummels and Kovac managed to curb their attempts very well.
There was no change in the scoreboard till the half time. After the half time, the intense game continued. But this scoreline of 0-1 was not very advantageous for dortmund.
Because of the gegenpressing system, Dortmund excelled. But this same system had a major drawback, which was the high consumption of stamina, resulting in conceding many last minute goals. So before that stage is reached, they need to try extending the lead.
Their efforts found their target during seventy fifth minute. The veteran defender Kovac managed to head the ball into the net during a corner kick—extending the lead and giving them some breathing room.
0-2 Dortmund.
The scoreline remained unchanged until the end. Dortmund managed to reach the quarter finals of Dfb-Pokal.