Dortmund interim boss wants players to ´give it all´ after Sahin exit

Borussia Dortmund interim coach Mike Tullberg has urged his players “to give it all” when they face Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

A four-game losing run across all competitions saw the club part ways with manager Nuri Sahin on Wednesday, a day after their 2-1 defeat at Bologna in the Champions League.

The result left Dortmund in 14th place in the Champions League table with 12 points from seven matches.

Dortmund have only lost four consecutive games once in the last 30 years – between March and April 2000 (six in a row) – forcing the club to take the decision.

They will now hope to get their first win of 2025 when they welcome Bremen with their former youth team coach Tullberg in temporary charge.

“The players have not forgotten how to play football,” Tullberg said during the pre-match press conference.

“My job is to give them courage and the team to give it all on Saturday. To play with passion and enjoy playing football.”

Dortmund are on 25 points after 18 games and sit 10th in the league table heading into Saturday. It is their lowest tally at this point of a Bundesliga season since 2014-15 (16 points).

Full focus on what’s ahead pic.twitter.com/plx26TD239

— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) January 23, 2025

They are at risk of missing out on Champions League qualification, having only registered one win in their last seven league games.

“What came before me matters little,” Tullberg said about BVB’s recent form.

“Now it is all about the next two or three days. That is my job. To coach the team until Saturday,” Tullberg said.

“I am not here to present myself because I am now an interim coach at Borussia Dortmund.

“I am here to help the players, help the club. Now it is about going out to win the game on Saturday.”

Bremen nevertheless will provide a formidable challenge with Saturday’s visitors having picked up 16 points from their nine away games this season – only Bayer Leverkusen (18) and Bayern (Munich 20) have collected more points on the road.