Alexander Nübel: More passion and determination for the derby

Alex, the team played well for large parts of the game away to TSG in Sinsheim, but it was the opposition celebrating at full time. What went wrong?

We didn’t score. We dominated the game in the first half, but never really tested Oliver Baumann. We weren’t clinical enough. The opposition scored, we didn’t. That was the difference.

Has the defeat had a negative impact on your confidence heading into the derby?

No! It’s about dusting ourselves off and preparing to go again. Especially because we actually played well, the result just didn’t reflect that. We are now just looking forward to the derby.

You played your first Revierderby in the second half of last season. What memories do you have of the 4-2 victory?

It was an incredible feeling and a great win for us to share with the fans during a rough patch. The three points were a real boost in terms of getting away from the relegation zone. The excitement started the week before the match. The feeling before a derby is different than before a ‘normal’ Bundesliga match.

How do you rate Dortmund’s season so far?

There’s no denying they have a very good team. They’ve dropped points but they definitely could have won some of their games that finished level. It’s still early days, though, and you don’t want to judge them based off a few games.

And are you satisfied with your own start to the season?

We always have high expectations. We can be happy with our performance so far. We want to win every game and add to our points total every weekend.

What’s the most important quality to have in a derby?

We’re going to need the sort of passion and mentality that we have already shown in a lot of games this season. Nevertheless, we don’t want to get carried away. We will need to remain calm and focused despite all the emotion if we want to get a result. We also know we can rely on the fans to support us and give us an extra boost!

Which Dortmund players pose the biggest threat?

It’s difficult to pick out an individual player because they have so many strong players. Marco Reus and Jadon Sancho obviously have a lot of quality. It’s not good to focus on solely on one or two players, though.