Haaland set for return as coach Nagelsmann eyes title farewell
BERLIN: Striker Erling Braut Haaland is expected to return for Borussia Dortmund in Thursday’s German Cup final against RB Leipzig, whose departing coach Julian Nagelsmann wants to sign off with his and the club’s first title.
Haaland returned to training on Tuesday having sat out Saturday’s 3-2 league win over Leipzig with deep bruising as England winger Jadon Sancho scored a superb winner in the cup final rehearsal.
“Even if he ( Haaland) plays, I give us a good chance of winning this final,” said Leipzig defender Lukas Klostermann, who scored during Saturday’s away league defeat.
Dortmund will be without switzerland goal keeper Marwin Hitz, who injured his knee on Saturday and will be replaced in goal by Roman Buerki.
Dortmund are bidding to lit the cup for only the fith time in the club’s history. Their last win in the final was four years ago when they squeezed past Eintracht Frankfurt.
“It will be very intense again,” Dortmund centre-back Mats Hummels said ahead of his eighth cup final, having only won twice.
As Dortmund sports director Michael Zorc told AFP subsidiary SID: “The cup has been around for 85 years, we have won it four times. You don’t lit it every year.”
In contrast, Red Bull-backed Leipzig, who were only founded in 2009, are still chasing a first major title in any competition ater a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Bayern Munich in the 2019 final.
Without or without Haaland, Dortmund are favourites ater winning their last five games since losing to Manchester City in the Champions League quarter-finals.
They are also unbeaten in their last seven matches against Leipzig.
“The record is not outstanding, we have work to do,” said Nagelsmann, who will leave to take charge of Bayern next season.
In 11 matches against Dortmund as either coach of Leipzig or his ex-club Hoffenheim, Nagelsmann has won just once.
“It’s about time, in Berlin we finally have to get it right,” added Nagelsmann.
The 33-year-old can make history as the youngest head coach to win the trophy, beating Hans-dieter Tippenhauer, who was 35 when Fortuna Duesseldorf won the 1979 final.
The fixture presents the chance of a first major title for Leipzig and their coach.
Despite steering Leipzig to the last four of the Champions League last season, Nagelsmann has just one trophy on his CV -- the Under-19 Bundesliga title with Hoffenheim in 2013/14.
When he joined in 2019, Nagelsmann said he wanted to win “some silverware” with Leipzig.
This is his last chance before being replaced by Jesse Marsch, currently in charge of Red Bull Salzburg and Nagelsmann wants to sign off by celebrating a cup final win “with the boys”.