'We could even play Chuck Norris with Sven Bender' - Klopp

Mar 16, 2013 8:45:00 PM

The Borussia Dortmund coach feels that his team selection is less important than the collective tactical approach the players adopt

Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp has claimed that who he selects to start for the team does not matter after his side claimed a 5-1 victory over Freiburg on Saturday.

The German champions fielded the unfamiliar partnership of Ilkay Gundogan and Nuri Sahin in midfield, but the former Mainz boss feels the tactical approach is more important than the names on the team sheet.

"It's not about who plays in defensive midfield," the 45-year-old told Ruhr Nachrichten after the match. "It's about how a team close spaces together.

"I could have asked Chuck Norris and Sven Bender to defend together. Nuri and Ilkay had a few problems at first, but got back into the game well to have a great match. It's a beautiful story.

"Today, the opponents were extremely physical, while tactically and technically assured. But in the end, it was a perfect afternoon."

Sahin, who scored twice in the win, was swift to credit his boss for his first goals since returning to his boyhood club, admitting that his second spell at Signal Iduna Park had not gone as planned thus far.

"The coach had said it time and time again, it was only a matter of time. I'm not hiding my bad passes, but that's part of my game and the coach knows that," he told ARD.

"I had not performed well against Hamburg [in February], but today was put in charge of making things happen again and succeeded.

"I was a bit frustrated in the first-half, but in the end it was another important step in our development."

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