Journalism of Courage
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This is an archive article published on November 26, 2013
Victory is the only option for Borussia Dortmund
2013 runners-up need to win match against Napoli to stay in contention; Victory enough for Arsenal.
Borussia Dortmund’s European season hangs in the balance as last season’s Champions League runners-up prepare to host Italy’s Napoli on Tuesday with victory being the only option for the Germans.
Injury-hit and disappointed following Saturday’s 3-0 Bundesliga defeat to rivals Bayern Munich,coach Juergen Klopp’s team need to win their last two Champions League Group F games against Napoli and Olympique Marseille to preserve their chances of reaching the knockout stage.
Any other result could mean a surprise and premature exit for team that dazzled Europe last season with their lightning-quick pace and youthful exuberance but has failed to match results this campaign.
We are lacking in determination,a sense of purpose, said Dortmund keeper Roman Weidenfeller. Nothing has been decided yet,neither in the league nor in Europe. We have to win at home and we need to use our chances because games are won by scoring goals.
Dortmund are in third place in the group on six points,three behind leaders Arsenal and Napoli. Marseille have yet to score a point. Napoli have already beaten the Germans 2-1 in the first leg in Italy back in September.
I told my team after the Bayern game that they have five minutes to be depressed and then just get up and keep going, said Klopp. We have to think of the next game,draw the right conclusions and be more clear in our game. We want to have a final in Marseille.
Makeshift defence
Klopp will need to reshuffle his makeshift backline yet again,with Manuel Friedrich,signed as a free agent last week after injuries to Mats Hummels,Neven Subotic and Marcel Schmelzer,being ineligible for Europe.
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There is some good news,however,with right back Lukasz Piszczek returning to action on Saturday after hip surgery in the summer.
Napoli’s spirits are equally low after losing their last two Serie A games without scoring,3-0 at Juventus two weeks ago and 1-0 at home to midtable Parma on Saturday,following an excellent start to the season.
Coach Rafael Benitez rotated his team against Parma and saw his side lose to a late Antonio Cassano goal in a game which could have gone either way.
Benitez blamed the international break. We made too many mistakes but it is difficult to work well in such a short space of time, he said. I wasn’t surprised by Borussia’s defeat to Bayern. I was more concerned with our result than Borussia’s. We are already concentrating on the next match.
Safe path
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Arsenal’s path into the Champions League knockout rounds looks to be a safe one with a home game against rock bottom Olympique Marseille coming up on Tuesday but they are taking nothing for granted.
The Londoners top Group F with nine points from four matches,the same as second-placed Napoli and three more than Borussia Dortmund.
Should Arsenal beat Marseille and Dortmund fail to defeat Napoli,Arsene Wenger’s side would be guaranteed to qualify with a game to spare.
Midfielder Santi Cazorla has warned against complacency especially with a trip to Naples concluding the group stages.
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The main problem I see is everyone thinks it’s going to be an easy game for us to win, the Spaniard told the club’s website http://www.arsenal.com after Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Southampton also kept his side top of the Premier League.
There is nothing at stake for Marseille because they have zero points but they are going to make things difficult for us. It may be tough and if we’re not careful we might slip up and then we might not be able to get through to the next round.
We need to understand it’s a vital match, said Cazorla. If we obtained a bad result then it would make things very complicated for us.
With little chance of even finishing third in the group,Marseille may elect to field a weakened side at Arsenal. Coach Elie Baup,whose team enjoyed a 3-1 victory at AC Ajaccio on Friday in Ligue 1,has hinted he may try some new faces.
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We’re eliminated from the Champions League but we need to show some good things, he said. It will perhaps be the occasion for some young players to gain some experience.
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