Dortmund turmoil

After criticism: “Proper enema” for Sabitzer

Marcel Sabitzer with Dortmund coach Nuri Sahin(Bild: NICOLAS TUCAT)

Marcel Sabitzer, who recently caused a stir at Borussia Dortmund, has been summoned to report by the club bosses. He was given "a proper enema".

The ÖFB team player currently has a difficult time at the Bundesliga club: he either sits on the bench or plays in a position that is not his usual one. Sabitzer's recent public criticism of this has not gone down well everywhere.

Lars Ricken(Bild: AFP)

Dortmund boss and club legend Lars Ricken commented on the issue on BildTV earlier this week and expressed his "extreme appreciation" for Sabitzer. "Without him, we wouldn't have reached the Champions League final last season," said Ricken, who also made it clear that "in a situation like this, individual interests are not the main focus" and that you have to "put yourself at the service of the team, the team performance is the decisive factor".

"Proper run-in" from the bosses
Those responsible for Ricken have probably also made this clear to the Austrian internally, with the "Bild" newspaper writing of a "proper run-in" for Sabitzer. According to the newspaper, the midfielder is held in high regard by his teammates, but some of his colleagues regard him as a maverick and sometimes a little arrogant.

Marcel Sabitzer(Bild: AFP/APA/Pau BARRENA)

In his program "Reif ist live" on BildTV at the beginning of the week, former cult commentator and current soccer expert Marcel Reif was harsh on Sabitzer.

"A player shouldn't do that in public"
"When I heard what Sabitzer said after a game, I thought to myself: 'That's not your place, my friend!" After the 3-0 win against Brugge in the Champions League, Sabitzer had publicly expressed his displeasure at having to play in the right attacking position, even though it is not his preferred position. "A player shouldn't do that publicly," said Reif, who was also annoyed by the fact that the former Bayern player added in his criticism that Dortmund coach Nuri Sahin already knew that he didn't like this position at all.

Marcel Reif(Bild: AFP)

"You can then continue the sentence - and then it says 'The coach knows that, and yet he does this nonsense and lets me play in that position'," said Reif, who sees this as an affront to the coach.