The Champions League game between Borussia Dortmund and FC Sevilla is a wonderful spectacle in the last few minutes. The guests from Andalusia perfect the art of wasting time. They are already masters of their trade in the Westfalenstadion. Even Niklas Süle is amazed.
Niklas Süle had a guess. The national defender was in the mixed zone of Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion after the 1-1 draw against Sevilla. “We didn’t have our best day today, but we got more out of the game, especially in the second half. I had the feeling that Sevilla didn’t really want to score anymore. We then fell to the ground quite often “, said Süle: “Without wanting to insinuate anything now. But those are just facts!”
Only a few days after the change of coach from Julen Lopetegui to Jorge Sampaoli, a 1.72 meter short Argentinian wisp covered in tattoos, the Andalusians were in their element in the Westfalenstadion. They are the masters of wasting time. Hardly any other club has been able to antagonize more opposing fans over the years. And enjoys it so successfully.
Because time stalling is the most elementary of all forms of play to bring a result over time. Once mastered, the seconds will disappear from the clock without the ball being able to move across the field. There is always something. The run-up at the kick-off must be re-measured, noted and registered with the responsible authorities. Touching the ankle briefly presents as a brutal attack on the knee. Spasms in the big toe progress to full-body spasms that require intense treatment on the field.
Mow Fatigue Blows downed players multiple times in a matter of minutes. Plagued by shortness of breath and dizziness, they can only be hoisted to the edge of the field on a stretcher. Sometimes they tumble down and break all their bones, which a medicine man posted on the sidelines heals with a few magic spells. It’s a spectacle that leaves the referees and opponents helpless and drives the spectators in the stands to the brink of madness.
All of this wasting of time, presented with a slight tendency to peasant theater, transformed the last few minutes of the game in the Westfalenstadion into a never-ending spectacle, which at the same time nipped any attempt at a proper attacking game in the bud. The Brazilian Marcão, who still seemed wooden at the beginning of the 90 minutes, stood out in particular.
The 26-year-old defender of the Andalusians was only lured to Spain from Galatasaray in the summer for 14 million euros, but then dropped out due to injury. During his first performance in the premier class, he splashed his exhausted body on the ground several times and had to be treated for minutes. His injury history, his performance in the nearly 90 minutes prior gave credence to his lightning fatigue.
Serbian referee Srdjan Jovanovi? was also deeply impressed. He pointed to the clock to indicate an extension of the four-minute stoppage time. But that was it. He didn’t hang around for a second. Although goalkeeper Bono also took a free kick in the few minutes that followed with the calm of his 31 years and picked up the yellow card for it.
Seville got so intoxicated with the art form of wasting time that they completely forgot about the orderly ball transfer into the Dortmund half. An away win for progress in the Champions League would have had a certain urgency. With two points and only two games left, they are five points behind Borussia Dortmund. In addition, BVB won the direct comparison and only needs one point from the remaining games against Manchester City and Copenhagen, which also have two draws.
But maybe Seville didn’t want to win at all, as Niklas Süle initially suspected. The Andalusians are the champions of the Europa League. They are regularly in the final there, and they could also take part in the Champions League in the 2023/2024 season. The Europa League winner, ask Eintracht Frankfurt, qualifies for the premier class. So maybe this 1-1 draw in Dortmund was quite enough, maybe they wanted to wall themselves up, scramble, swindle this draw and therefore not run the risk of suddenly being a hopeless knockout round participant in the Champions League.
But none of that mattered in those wonderfully agonizing minutes in Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion. The masters of time wasting took the art form to a new level. Due to the initial situation, that might even have made no sense and was therefore close to perfection. Long live the wasting of time!
