Traumatic memories of the perfidious stop are rare. If the Dortmund football professionals – as at that time – make in the team bus from the L’Árrivée hotel on the way to the domestic stadium, the hedge at the exit of the Mondänen hostel is hardly considered.
- Heavy consequences for the victims
- Watzke still stunned today
- Strife between Watzke and Tuchel
- Watzke stands for the UEFA decision
The fact that five years ago at the exit to the quarterfinals in the Champions League against Monaco three explosive sets detonated, prepares the former sufferer according to assessment of clubboss Hans-Joachim Watzke now no sleepless nights more: “The players who were affected have processed it. “
Heavy consequences for the victims
The agonizing thoughts at the 11th of April 2017 shake off, but most professionals not fell slightly. Still months after the assassination, many players talked about the process against the assassin frankly of depressions and insomnia.
Especially the at the attack on the arm injured and meanwhile changed to Spain Marc Bartra granted a deep look into his inner life: “I had told. I was afraid to show up my family again.” Shaken was similar to Torkeeper Roman Weidenfeller: “The incident has changed my life.”
Only with good luck, most bus occupants like the German international Matthias Ginter or Julian Weigl escaped serious injuries, as a finger-length metal bolt after the detonation of three bombs smashed some slices and partly drilled in headrests of the seats.
Watzke still stunned today
Indicators such as a letter found at the crime scene initially indicated a stop of Islamists. Rights or militant football fans were also a little later in the focus of the investigators. But the real motif of the offender is still for detection at Watzke. “This stop had no political motive. That was just someone who made something so incredible from personal greed,” said the BVB Managing Director of the German Press Agency DPA.
The fact that the assassin had set a lot of money on a price loss of the BVB share caused by the attack makes the act for an unprecedented crime in German crime history. On November 27, 2018, the then 29-year-old assassin of 28-fold murder attempt was found guilty and sentenced to 14 years imprisonment.
Strife between Watzke and Tuchel
Even within the association, the events had been done for a long time. So the relationship between the trainer and the board took irreparable damage. The question of whether the game against Monaco had already been able to be able to catch up the next day, led to a publicly discharged dispute between Watzke and Thomas Tuchel.
Even the Cup victory on May 27, 2017 in Berlin against Frankfurt, the waves could not smooth. Only three days later both sides proclaimed the separation. “There was a great dissent between me and Aki Watzke,” the football teacher acquainted a little later, “the biggest dissent was probably that I sat in the bus and he did not.”
That the team lost the quarter-final batch against Monaco with 2: 3 and a week later after 1: 3 in principality from the competition, no one surprised in view of the emotional exceptional situation.
Watzke stands for the UEFA decision
Also many months later, Watzke described the decision forced by the UEFA and carried away by the team of the team: “We had this evening and then all the feeling that it was a terrorist attack. It was then just about The question, you want to set a sign as a company under the consideration that you demand almost inhumane from the players, or not. That was the actual message. “
For the club boss, the attack is the most bitterest and most emotional experience in its term of office since February 2005. The look back still prepares him discomfort: “Of course we have the great hope that something never happens again.”