Tom Rothe on his Borussia Dortmund debut: “I’m happy the coach gave me confidence to play.” | OneFootball

Speaking to Kicker, 17-year-old Borussia Dortmund debutant Tom Rothe discussed being given an unexpected start, playing at the Westfalenstadion and scoring his first Bundesliga goal.

On his unexpected debut.. “I was super happy that I was able to play. Of course, I was a bit lucky and unlucky that Hazard felt uncomfortable in training yesterday. I’m happy that the coach gave me confidence to play from the start today. And I would say it went quite well.”

“I found out yesterday after the final training session.. I didn’t sleep well as usual. I was excited of course, that’s part of the game.”

The atmosphere.. “Everyone knows that the Südtribüne in Dortmund is something very special and when you actually step onto the field yourself, it’s an indescribable feeling. It’s really really awesome.”

On his debut goal.. “Jule [Julian Brandt] played a great ball. Then it took a second or two to realise, ‘Oh, it was in there!’ But then of course I was incredibly happy.”

On pre-match nerves.. “It’s different from what I usually play. The pace is much higher. The coach said I should play a few simple balls first. It took me 10 minutes, then I got more familiar with the whole environment and then everything went fine.”